PHALANX - The series

Episode Thirty-four: Peace, Quiet, and Stories, part two

 

Daphnix had crawled into his sleeping-bag half an hour earlier, and he was on his back, staring at the ceiling of his small tent, arms tucked under his head. He was thinking about the events that had transpired that day, the incredible feats he had seen Ami perform. He chuckled at the thought of his love besting two incarnations of Frederic. He had experienced that new strength first-hand, and chuckled louder when he felt his right shoulder twitch at the memory of being severely dislocated. There were some things Immortality just couldn’t cure… one of them was the memory of having a dislocated shoulder pop back into place under influence of a jerk of muscles.

He had felt himself match her in speed and skill, before finally surpassing her in strength. Daphnix sighed as his chuckles subsided, and he let out a breath to allow himself to relax. His eyes closed, and a happy smile was on his face as he conjured up an image of Ami. She looked so beautiful in that Altered Sailor outfit. He allowed himself to drift off.

Finally, he jerked awake when he heard a shuffle outside his tent. Quietly releasing the catch on his sleeping-bag, Daphnix slid upright, out of the item, and to the entrance of his tent. Internally, his entire being became poised. He had a strong dislike for people sneaking around other people’s tents at night. If this person was stupid enough to try something… Daphnix’ mind geared up for battle when the zipper to his tent started lifting.

The moment the person stuck their head inside; Daphnix jumped, pulled hard, and clamped his hand over the mouth. At the same time the person was fully inside, Daphnix’s knee entered the lower back, pinning the person to the ground while his free hand held the two hands of his would-be assailant behind his…her back?

He heard a muffled scream. It was only now that he recognized something about the squirming figure. His mind created a sphere of light, and he immediately bolted upright, hitting the tent and nearly taking it with him. He hadn’t jumped very hard, thankfully. “Sweets?!” he shouted. “What are you doing here?” he asked, suddenly realizing how that must have come across to the girl. He knelt down next to where she was squirming into a sitting position. “Sweets?” he asked, voice gentle now. “Are you alright?”

She nodded quietly, staring at the floor. Daphnix slid back onto his sleeping-bag, pulling her with him. “Are you alright?” he asked again as he held her. She snuggled closer to him, her arms around him, head on his chest. She nodded. “Yeah…” she whispered. “Hold me?” she asked.

“Always, Sweets,” Daphnix replied as he hugged her tighter. He could feel her new muscle, the strength in her lithe body as he held her. But to him, she was still the frail and shy girl he had first fallen in love with. She hadn’t changed with the power, and Daphnix loved her even more for it. “I once told you that, and I meant it. I will always hold you.”

Again, she seemed to plaster herself closer to him. “Thank you…” she croaked.

Daphnix tightened the hug. “Sweets… what’s wrong?” he asked gently. “What happened today…?”

“Fred and BorgFred both forgave me,” she whispered with a sob. “But…but…what I can do now…it’s so scary.” She looked up from her position on his chest at him. “I’m scared,” she whispered, sad, blue eyes looking at him.

“Oh, Sweets,” he said lovingly as he drew her up to meet him. He kissed her gently on the lips. “There’s nothing to be scared of… Frederic knows what he’s doing. He will show us how to use our power, and how to use them wisely.”

“I…I know… but I’m…scared…and concerned…about me,” she replied.

Daphnix looked at her with a confused look on his face. “How so, Sweets?”

“What it…what it does to me. I…I don’t want to change… make you go away because I’m different…” she whispered chokingly.

“Oh, Sweets,” Daphnix said, hugging her close to him. “You’re still the girl I fell in love with, and you always will be. I love you even more now… you’ve been able to become so powerful, yet you’re still the same girl I fell in love with. You resisted the temptation to change under your powers… instead; you changed them to match you. Yes, you’re strong… but you’re still my Ami.”

She fell onto him, crying as she hugged him. Realizing her need to release the stress, Daphnix held her in his arms, soothingly stroking her soft blue hair. Finally, the girl calmed down, and Daphnix thought she had fallen asleep when she looked up at him.

“Thank you, Love,” she whispered. “For being there… accepting me… not… not… judging me…”

Daphnix leant down, kissing her softly on the lips. “I never will, Sweets. I love you…and I always will.”

She smiled, shifting slightly to snuggle deeper into his arms. Daphnix shot the top of her head a last loving smile before he closed his eyes and settled in for a night with her in his arms. His mind had just started to wander when it was drawn back to reality.

“Love?” she asked quietly, timidly.

“Hm?” he asked drowsily. It was testimony to his relaxed guards that he allowed himself to be drowsy with someone so close.

“Will you…” she started to ask, her voice faltering. She drew another breath, and Daphnix opened his eyes in curiosity. “Will you make love to me?” she finally asked, throwing it all out in a single breath, still not looking at him.

Daphnix swallowed, staring at the top of her head. “Sweets…” he started, before breaking off. He lifted her face to look at him. “Only if you’re ready for this,” he whispered.

Ami opened her mind at that point, allowing him to enter her freely and without reservation. Her mind was fully open and exposed, extremely vulnerable. He knew then that Ami indeed wanted this. Dropping his own shields, some of them erected when he had first been empowered and had never dropped. Slowly, their lips met, and their minds merged.

A couple of tents over, Frederic’s eyes opened as he awoke in the gentle embrace of his wife. His mind had warned him. Something was amiss. No, not amiss, he realized. It’s something that’s…just not right. His eyes opened fully, whites showing all around his pupils as more information came in. He chuckled to himself, and to Jennifer through the link. Now I know what D meant by ‘generating mental noise’, he sent to her as his mind reached out to construct a dome-shield around a certain tent.

Jennifer laughed right back at him. What was it he said? That we generated enough mental power to light the US for the next couple of years?

Something like that, Love, Frederic replied. I hope they’re enjoying their first time as much as we did.

Jennifer wrapped her arms tighter around her husband, pulling him back down under the covers. They really love each other, she answered. Don’t worry about them… they’re made for each other.

Frederic smiled as he closed his eyes, and snuggled deep into his wife’s warm embrace. You’re right, My Love. You’re right.

 

The next morning, Daphnix awoke to the warm feeling of a sleeping body close to his. He felt more relaxed than he had felt in ages. Letting out a content sigh, he settled close to Ami, putting an arm around her naked form. She smiled in her sleep, and snuggled closer to him. He closed his eyes, and drifted off again.

Fifteen minutes later, both were awake anyway.

“I think we’d better get up, Love,” she whispered.

Daphnix chuckled as he realized something. “You know, this reminds me of something.”

Ami looked confused at him. Daphnix’ chuckle grew. “When Fred and Jenny first got involved, they forgot about clothes too. She had to run in her nightgown to her house for clothes. Fred tried to port them, but they emerged in the middle of the town square.”

Ami blushed as she realized that she too, had only a nightgown here.

“Don’t worry, Sweets,” Daphnix said, holding her, and kissing her. “Linda, clothing beam on Ami. Standard uniform.”

Ten seconds later, the fully dressed couple left Daphnix’ tent. As they emerged, they stepped through something that seemed to give and collapse in on itself.

“Only one person has the strength to create a mental shield like that,” Daphnix said in a whisper.

“I guess our secret is out, then,” Ami said, blushing deeply.

“If it is, no-one seems to care,” Daphnix replied, looking around the campsite. “They’re all gone.”

Ami frowned when she realized he was right. She focused her powers and cast them out alongside Daphnix’ in a search for their friends. They found them not far away, gathered at the shores of a lake. The couple teleported.

“Hi, Ami. Hi, D,” Buffy greeted them. The others simply nodded in the couple’s direction, their gazes focused on a point high above the lake. Finally, Daphnix and Ami looked at well. What they saw made their jaws drop. Or rather, it was what they didn’t see.

Frederic and Jennifer were dancing a beautiful classic Vienna Waltz. In mid-air. Both Ami and Daphnix had seen that before. What they hadn’t seen before was the fact that neither of them was using any power of any sort.

Ami blinked, and outstretched her hand to the ground. A small thump later, she was wearing her Alter Helmet. She looked to her side, to find Daphnix having done the same at the exact same time. The couple looked up, using full Alter senses.

“There’s no Mental power… no magic, no Force, no Alter, or Ki involved,” Daphnix whispered.

“Then how are they flying?” Ami grunted.

“We figured it out about two minutes before you two dropped by,” Jessie Bannon answered. “The laws of physics.”

Ami and Daphnix de-Altered, and looked at the redheaded Master Slayer, who shrugged, and looked back to the couple. “To the best of what we know, the laws of physics have changed. It’s as if the entire Multiverse has decided to carry them. Gravity flows around them, supporting them, as it has decided to join in their dance. None of us know what’s happening… it’s impossible. If we didn’t see it with our own eyes, we wouldn’t believe it.”

 

Sorcerer shook his head in confusion as he entered a few more figures into the keypad of his small fighter craft. He had no idea why he had been summoned here. Sorcerer chuckled.

“Maybe he wants me to have another go at his brats. I wonder how much they’ve evolved by now… those kids showed a lot of potential,” he muttered to himself as the computer beeped their arrival.

“Energize,” he ordered as he stood up from his command chair. The computer whisked him away.

He materialized facing a campfire, and simply lifted an eyebrow at the close proximity. He slowly turned around, and came face-to-face with Frederic, standing in front of Jennifer and Daphnix, who in turn preceded the 21 Master Slayers.

With one stroke of his eyes, Sorcerer knew something wasn’t right. Something warned him, and if there was one thing Sorcerer had learned, it was to trust his battle-instincts. They had saved his hide on multiple occasions.

“So, what’s the glorious occasion?” Sorcerer asked, standing at ease with feet spread shoulder-wide apart and hands linked behind his back, staring straight into Frederic’s eyes. One flash was all he required, and Sorcerer knew that something was definitely not right. Those eyes…those terrible eyes…Sorcerer blinked against the feeling of having his soul dissected in the scrutiny of those eyes.

“Well, Sorc,” Frederic said, breaking formation and calmly taking a step toward him with a small smile on his face, “this is a test.” Sorcerer felt chills run down his spine with that smile, and those words froze him to the core of his being. The hair at the back of his neck was standing up straight. His very being was telling him that Frederic was no longer the Frederic he knew.

“Really?” Sorcerer asked, sounding cheerful. He broke stance, and appeared totally calm, not in the least concerned, contrary to what he felt. “And what is that test?”

“A test of strength,” Frederic replied as Jennifer, Daphnix, and the Master Slayers stepped back to form a large circle around the two Triple Phalanxes and the roaring campfire.

Sorcerer smirked. “You’ve got something new, and you want to give it a test-run, huh?” he asked, calmly stepping away to put some distance between him and his dimensional twin. He stepped into a combat-stance, one foot in front of the other, upper body slightly turned away from his opponent, one blade five centimeters out of the scabbard. He was ready to draw.

Frederic simply stepped back in his earlier stance: feet slightly apart, hands linked behind his back.

Everybody stared at the duo as their eyes drilled into each other’s. For five long minutes, nothing happened. Then, with a dry ‘snap’, Sorcerer shoved his sword back fully into its scabbard, and he broke his stance.

“It’s no use…” the Triple Phalanx whispered. “No matter what I try… you block it.”

“Only the greatest warriors can fight a battle without exchanging a single blow,” Jennifer said as she approached the couple. Frederic had relaxed. Sorcerer stood there, staring at the ground. He was a beaten man.

“The Gods finally came through for you, didn’t they?” he asked with a weak voice. He looked up, staring at Frederic as if they were alone in this universe.

“They did,” Frederic said, dipping his head. He drew one sword-handle, and activated the blade. So far, it was still an ordinary Phalanx sword. “Bane of Darkness,” he whispered. The sword changed.

Sorcerer didn’t even look at the new sword. “Jokilar Gerius,” he whispered, staring at the ground. “From the dawn of Time, the Gods finally resurrected the Master god-Slayers known as Jokilar Gerius.” He slumped. “Banes of Darkness… they’re the only things capable of creating level-16 negative energy. Nothing can stand against it… it destroys soul and soulless alike…” He shook his head. “Damnit.” He turned, started walking away. “Damnit,” he repeated. “I’m a useless wreck…” He slapped the communicator on his wrist. “Beam me up, Scotty,” he grunted. The man disappeared.

“You broke his morale,” Jennifer said to her husband.

“He’s truly harmless now,” Frederic answered calmly.

“That was amazing!” Buffy shouted as she and the other Master Slayers surrounded Frederic. “I saw your eyes move, but nothing happened!”

“We were fighting,” Frederic answered calmly. “He was thinking through attacks, and I was blocking them. He knew that. I knew that. We decided the outcome was a given. No matter what he did, he couldn’t get through. That’s why he surrendered.”

“So why are you always fighting us?” Jonny Quest asked. “I mean, the outcome of our fights is always predetermined as well.”

Frederic chuckled. “First of, what we’re doing is called sparring. And second, you and the other Master Slayers attack me, so I’m forced to defend and retaliate. What Sorc and I did with our eyes, you and I do with our hands and feet.”

“Only more impressive,” Ami answered. “We are nothing but teenagers… impulsive, brash, and overconfident. We don’t think enough… While you and Sorcerer… both of you who are so much older than we are… are the true warriors, able to fight with your souls rather than your bodies, and determine the winner without landing a single blow.”

“And that is what we’re going to work on,” Frederic told her. “We will begin with the Trials of Ascension, followed by the Rituals of Purification, and then…the Steps of Unification. You will learn from Shadow, using the wisdom of 250 years of combat, soul, and spiritual training.”

 

Sorcerer dragged himself out of the fighter after it landed in his backyard. Jennifer opened the backdoor at his approach, and only threw a single look at him before knowing something drastic had happened.

“Are you alright?” she asked he dragged himself through the back door, and past her. He simply shook his head, and fell in the couch. She sat down next to him, and looked at his laid-back form.

“What happened?” she asked him.

“The asshole…” Sorcerer whispered, sitting up straight. “The asshole…”

“Okay…” Jennifer said, drawing out the word. “And what did this asshole do?”

Sorcerer’s head snapped around, and fixed her with an incinerating glare. She calmly looked back, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “This particular asshole happens to be Jokilar Gerius,” he growled at her. “And it’s damn clear that I’ve outlived my usefulness now.” Sorcerer slumped. “I’m a useless wreck. I only live because he allows me to. Before…before I could pretend that I got away… but now…now it’s damn clear her lets me live.”

Jennifer sat there, silent, her mouth open. “Jokilar Gerius? Fred? As in, ‘dimensional twin’ Fred?”

“Yes. The asshole.”

Jennifer let out a breath, and settled into the couch. Sorcerer slumped over, putting his head in her lap as he kicked his legs over the armrest on the other side. Her hands started toying with his brown hair.

“How much of a boost would you need?” she asked after what seemed like an eternity had passed by.

Sorcerer slowly shook his head under her ministrations. “A lot. I don’t know. I never got to land a blow… it was a battle of mind and soul, not of heart and body.”

Jennifer swallowed, her rhythm halting only momentarily. It didn’t matter. It could just as well have been five minutes. Sorcerer knew she had startled as much as he had. “Then we need power,” she said. “What are the most powerful things you know of, but haven’t been using?”

Sorcerer chuckled darkly. “Heh. Like there’s a technique that can counter the Jokilar Gerius. They’re empowered by the fucking Gods of the fucking Universe!!! You can’t just walk into a store, and demand a potion to gain the strength and speed to counter a blessing by the Gods! And I highly doubt that I can just walk onto Avalon, and demand access to the Vaults. First of all, it wouldn’t do me any good, and second, I don’t have the access for it. And breaking into Avalon is the best way to have the asshole on my case.”

Jennifer sighed. “There must be something… isn’t there some rare mystical object, some rare form of energy, or a forgotten artifact that can help you?”

Sorcerer shook his head. “Only the Stone of Ages… and that one is more likely to vaporize me on sight then he is.” Jennifer ignored Sorcerer’s continuous use of nameless names for his twin. He always spoke like that when Frederic had done something that didn’t sit right with Sorcerer. “There isn’t a single object that I know of that can counter the Jokilar Gerius…” Sorcerer’s voice trailed of.

Jennifer recognized that look. “What is it, Love?” she asked.

“No single object,” he whispered, sitting up. “But there are a couple of objects that separately hold specific elements that, if combined… could really pack a punch. In the Home Dimension I knew of this guy…”

 

The group appeared next to a waterfall, facing the cascade of water of a hundred meter drop. The surrounding plateau was covered with melting snow and ice as the tundra shifted from the long winter to the short summer. “The Trails of Ascension are simple,” the short raven-haired warrior spoke as she started removing her clothing. Finally, she was naked. “Observe.”

The group watched as she stepped into the water, the icy cold of the mountain water causing no apparent discomfort for the woman. She waded until she was forced to start treading water. She moved until she was in the exact middle of the dropping water, where it came down with enough force to do serious harm to any normal person who would attempt something like this. She was buried up to her middle in the cold water, floating on her rotating legs.

Her arms crossed, eyes closed, and head bent slightly, Shadow allowed the cold water to plummet over her, plastering her shoulder-long black hair to the sides of her face. Her breathing was rhythmic, and nothing indicated that she was in trouble of any kind.

Finally, her eyes opened, and she took a deep breath. Her aura washed into existence around her. But, instead of forcing her body through a change of some sort, be it speed or strength, the warrior forced her aura out of her body. The ruby-red flames of energy reached up, intensifying in color as the warrior pumped energy into them.

Her arms were still crossed over her chest, and her head was still bent slightly downward when her mouth opened. A slight growl escaped her lips. The water around her started to smoke in the chilly tundra air. The aura kept increasing, and finally, the water around the warrior started to boil. Faster and faster it boiled, the water’s surface in turmoil through the convection streams coursing around the warrior’s naked body.

Shadow’s mouth opened further, and the growl became a snarl as a deep scowl etched itself on her face. The aura exploded. Now the water of the waterfall itself started to boil and steam, the water barely reaching the ground at all before it boiled off, and escaped into the chilly tundra air as steam. Shadow continued to scream, and her aura continued to pump up on power. The water boiled off sooner and sooner, and before long, her aura evaporated the huge flow of water well above the prone warrior’s body.

The Master Slayers looked up as the first drops started falling, and saw the steam condense back into water, which was now cascading down on top of them. The drops became a torrent, and soon everyone was drenched in the still lukewarm water.

Finally, Shadow disengaged her aura, and waded back to the shore. She stepped up on dry land, and started dressing. She wasn’t even wet.

The Master Slayers looked at each other uncertainly.

“What are you waiting for? A written invitation?” a still-dry Shadow asked her drenched pupils, who were continued being drenched by the still down pouring rain.

The Slayers continued to stare. “You children,” Ami said gruffly, quickly dropping her clothes, and stepping into the freezing water. She took gasping breaths as the ice-cold water flowed up around her, covering her as much as it had Shadow. Finally, she was under the waterfall, her arms hugged around her body, teeth clapping in cold. She focused, forcing her ki to rise and warm her body. She felt growing pleasantly warm, yet soon realized that she needed to do something different… or she would run out of energy very soon. This volume of water was enough to cool half a dozen nuclear reactors.

Keeping her eyes closed, Ami envisioned her life force leaving her body, creating a protection around her. She adjusted its shape soon after, to prevent it being crushed by the tremendous weight of the water falling down from high above. Ami opened her eyes, yet didn’t see. All she knew was cold, icy cold. She dropped her arms to her sides, and clenched her fists. She growled, expanding her life force, making it warmer, hotter. She forced it out of her body, around her, focusing on changing the water rather than her body.

Blue flames radiated out from her youthful naked body, blasting the water away from around her. Shadow shouted at her trainee. “Heat, not wind!”

Shadow’s voice penetrated the fog between Ami’s ears, and the blue-haired warrior focused deeper, not allowing herself to drift again. Adjusting her life force for heat rather than physical shape, she attempted to boil off the water. That was slightly more successful, yet still, the girl wasn’t happy. Shadow could boil the water in the river as well as the water in the fall. Ami hadn’t succeeded in the full river yet.

This isn’t working, she realized. The water is too cold… my ki can never get that far… the water’s properties don’t allow for heat to travel that far…Ami’s eyes opened again, focusing unseeing on the roaring surface of the water where the falls hit.

Ethereal, she muttered with a growl, both in her mind and out loud. Focus the heat into every molecule of water, rather than from a single, central source. She growled louder, crouching slightly in the icy waters that roared around her. Her ki no longer took physical shape; rather it took an ethereal ghost-like form that blasted outwards in a grand circle. The water started boiling, the closer to her, the hotter it became.

Jets of steam shot upward, and soon the girl stood in all her naked glory on a clear riverbed, the water of the fall evaporating around her. She dropped her breath, and unclenched her fists.

This isn’t me, Ami whispered inwardly. I am Sailor Mercury, Senshi of Water and Ice. She took another deep breath. The color of her ki changed abruptly, from hot white-blue to an almost electric icy-blue. The steam sublimated directly into ice as the waters around her abruptly changed from vapor into solid. There. Cold. That’s more me, the blue-haired warrior thought; forming a smile as she stepped up from the ice plateau she had created in the riverbed. Even the waterfalls had frozen, and Ami turned to look at the piece of art she had created. She smiled slightly as she walked to her friends on the shore.

The moment she got there, she calmly dressed herself. Water erupted behind her as the river forced its way past the ice blockades. Ami blushed when she looked up, finding the Master Slayers staring at her.

“Well done, Ami,” Shadow complimented with her characteristic cold smile. “You showed that you have control over your ki, both with an element not your own and the element that is your own.” She turned to the group. “Next?”

The Master Slayers shuffled anxiously, looking at each other. Shadow was relentless. One by one, they shed their clothes, went into the water, and toyed with the waterfall. By the end of the day, when they had gathered in a new campsite, the waterfall was their new favorite toy, and no-one had any problems with being naked in front of anybody else anymore.

 

Frederic was sitting on top of the cliff, next to where the waters roared over the edge, plummeting downwards to where his Master Slayers were playing. He could hear the laughing chatter and the splashing of water as they chased after each other, trying to splash the ice-cold water onto the others’ bodies. Frederic’s lips displayed a small smile at the sounds as his eyes roamed the white snowy grounds.

“Hey, FRED!!!!!” Buffy shouted from below over the roar of the hundred meter waterfall. “Come down! Have some fun!!!”

Frederic chuckled to himself, and got up. He took a diving pose, and jumped off. He hit the water five seconds later, and disappeared under the surface, only to emerge right next to Buffy, sending torrents of water over her as he lifted partially out of the water. The blonde Master Slayer laughed.

“I will get you for that!” she promised, and chased after him. Frederic put on a face of play-horror, and did his best to stay out of her reach… just not too far. Suddenly, Jennifer launched on his back from behind, keeping him pinned.

“Hey! Two on one isn’t fair!” Frederic said as Buffy caught up, and started splashing him.

“All’s fair in love and war, Love,” Jennifer said, continuing to hold him, his arms pinned to his sides.

Frederic looked over his shoulder at his wife. “And this is what, exactly; love, or war?”

Jennifer dunked him under. He stayed under. Jennifer looked at the water where her husband had disappeared under with a neutral expression. Buffy looked at it with a confused expression. Five minutes.

Ten minutes. The chatter died out around them as more and more Master Slayers joined the staring contest.

“What’s the matter?” Rei finally asked Ami, who turned to the raven-haired girl.

“Jenny dunked Fred, and he hasn’t surfaced since then,” the blue-haired girl answered.

“So? The guy’s immortal. He doesn’t need breath, remember?”

“True. But it’s not like him to simply vanish. There’s nothing there. No heat, no heartbeat, no sound, no nothing. Yet we know he’s there, since none of us detected him leaving,” Ami said.

“This is Fred,” Rei said coolly. “The guy can teach Houdini a thing or two about escaping. Has anybody looked?”

“That is a very good question,” Frederic suddenly answered. He was fully dressed and was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed, looking at the group with an amused expression on his face.

Jennifer chuckled, and shook her head. The other Master Slayers looked at each other. Jennifer and Daphnix’ gazes locked. They nodded. As one, the entire water-bound group launched at Frederic, screaming in mock-rage.

For a moment, Frederic lifted an eyebrow, then smiled, and subsequently started running, an army of Master Slayers on his heels. The group had a marvelous time.

Two hours later, the sun had set and the entire group had gathered around the campfire. After dinner, they settled in for the next part of the Oech-anya history.

 

The time is now 48 hours before the Oech-anya race was to fall, the group heard Vaal’s voice. The firing of the cannon we developed had no impact on the meteorite.

Vaal, Goaan, Adeccà, and Shanià were seated along a campfire, the darkness of the Martian night permeated by the hundreds of other campfires all along the hill site and the plains surrounding them. For the first time since long, the preserve was open to all, and hunting was not restricted.

“It looks as if everyone has decided to spend their last days like the times of old,” Vaal whispered to his small family unit.

“Around the fire, singing songs, looking at the stars, and telling stories,” Shanià said with a longing tone to her voice. “A beautiful time.”

Goaan and Adeccà cast a glance up. “Too bad about that thing,” the girl said, looking at the dark gray shape that was looming against the starry background.

“We have one last thing tomorrow,” Vaal said. “It will work.”

“And if it doesn’t, we’ll all go to the Great Feast of Valerià the Huntress and of Zoran the Warlord,” Goaan said calmly. He rubbed his hands. “It will be a glorious day.”

Vaal nodded with satisfaction when he saw his daughter nod solemnly with her brother’s words. “Both of you have great control. I am proud of you.”

His children beamed a smile at him. “Both of us have worked hard in control class, Father,” Adeccà answered. “We wanted to be ready, in case we were selected to become Phalanx after you.”

“The last thing we want is to be the one to be the one to break our uninterrupted hold of the Phalanx powers. In over 1500 years, there hasn’t been a Phalanx who broke,” Goaan added in.

“That’s what control class is for,” Vaal said, looking at the skies, sighing sadly as his lovely sky was befouled by the large gray rock. “To train the Oech-anya not to give in to the Darkness, to keep it locked in forever. The Phalanx powers are handed down from one Phalanx to the next, only the best and brightest are selected… we can not allow another Dark Phalanx to come to rule.”

 

The next day, Vaal was standing on a platform, facing a town square that was black with people. Everywhere he looked; there was nothing but Oech-anya, Oech-anya, and more Oech-anya. The entire world’s population had shown up… just as he had asked of his people.

Vaal took a breath, and grabbed the microphone placed in front of him, the action broadcasted on the huge screens that had been placed all over the Martian Capital.

“We are standing on the verge of a new existence, just like the Great Phalanx Wazariaa 1500 years ago; we are at a crossroads that will redefine the existence of our race.” Vaal disconnected the microphone from the stand, and started pacing the platform, engrossed in his own words. “Fifteen hundred years ago, Wazariaa had a choice. The choice to surrender his power or to fight for it. He chose to fight for it.”

Vaal snapped around to face the crowd, staring directly into the image-captors hanging around the podium, making it appear as if his eyes were drilling into the eyes of everyone. “Wazariaa fought, and won! He established the first control classes, and taught those first precious students how to control the Darkness Within! And then… at the last fateful moment… Wazariaa transferred his Oech-anya power and authority to his best student, and that power has been handed down through the generations ever since, never to be released fully, and never to be broken.”

“Just like Wazariaa 1500 years ago, we now chose to fight for our lives, and for our right to survive! We will beat the odds! We will emerge victorious! And once again, the proud race of the Oech-anya will live on! Ladies and Gentlemen, we’re going to survive! Today is the time that all our training will come to culmination! We will beat back this meteor, we will restore the balance of the hostile elements on our beautiful planet, and the Oech-anya will know another 1500 years of peace! And in fifteen hundred years, when the next threat appears, people will be telling the glorious story of us, standing here together, united, on this very day! They will tell how we valiantly chose to fight, and how we gave our lives to defend our way of life!”

The crowd roared, fifty-five million voices crying out in agreement, fifty-five million minds amplifying the deafening roar to one of the largest outcries the world had ever known. Vaal smiled broadly. He couldn’t make out individual faces, but he knew that his family was down there somewhere, among the crowd.

“Today… we shall be REBORN!!!!” Vaal shouted, his voice distorting as it went above the crowd’s outcry. The crowd went wild, and Vaal smiled as he joined in with the crowd’s roaring agreement. He pressed the button, marking a five-minute countdown on all the screens.

“ONLY FIVE MORE MINUTES!!!” Vaal screamed, voice drowning in the sea of raging voices coming from the gathered race.

 

Vaal shuddered as he reached the base of the Frondun Mountain. It was icy cold, the dust storm hitting him everywhere, slapping him, tugging at his clothes, filling his every orifice with sand. His race was dying… if it hadn’t died already. Vaal’s acute senses had dulled the last couple of days, the horror of everything he had witnessed too much to bear.

It wasn’t enough, the miserable Phalanx whispered. We moved it… but it wasn’t enough. We avoided the collision… but still, it was not enough. Vaal shuddered, drawing the pelts closer around his broad shoulders. So cold, he shivered. We moved orbit… all our water…frozen… the air…covered… no sun… so cold…so very cold… and that damned wind… no building left standing after the earthquakes subsided…

He stopped, seemingly falling forward on his knees.

Vaal cried.

After what seemed like an eternity, the broken Phalanx composed himself, and pulled a box from under the pelts that served as clothing. He buried it, using his bare hands as shovels. He had a scarf thrown in front of his mouth, preventing most of the sand from entering it. But still, everything tasted like iron, and Vaal could feel tiny grains of sand moving around with his saliva.

“At the base of the Frondun Mountains, the tallest mountain of this planet, I bury you,” the man intoned. “I will release the codes that have kept you in place, and I will abandon the power that has bound you to me. You are free once again, in the hope that one day; a new Phalanx might come, and learn about us… and hopefully, avoid the mistakes we have made.” He stared filling the pit he had made. Only when the work was completed, the boxed Sword buried, did Vaal fall forward.

Shanià… Adeccà…Goaan… I’ll be with you shortly.

His mind gave way; finally… the streaming sandstorm reached in, and within minutes, the skeleton had been cleaned of flesh. Five minutes later, the skeleton itself had vanished, eaten by the violent 500-kilometer-an-hour wind.

 

The Gerius opened their eyes. Only two thoughts went through their heads. Wow. Damn.

 

“The Marianas?” Rei asked as the entire group materialized on a beach somewhere.

“Yep,” Frederic said with a chuckle, before shifting into the ever-stoic Shadow. She motioned for the ocean. “We’re going for a walk. The Rituals of Purification call for purification by earth, water, air, and fire. First part: water. Let’s take a walk… in the Mariana Trench.”

“With a maximum depth of 11,035 meters and a pressure of 1.1 ton per square centimeter, that means each of us will feel as if there are fifty jumbo jets on our shoulders,” Ami rattled off quietly.

Willow nodded, stunned, and added, “With a length of 2486 kilometers and a width of 70 kilometers, it reaches it deepest point in ‘Challenger Deep’, a point 336 kilometers southwest of Guam.” She looked from the ocean to Shadow. “Even with all our increased-G training, we’ll either be flattened like dimes, crushed like bricks, or in the very least be unable to move.”

Shadow smirked. “In other words, it’s ideal training grounds. A natural gravity room.” She clapped her hands, drawing the attention of her group back to her. “Okay, people. Let’s get ourselves ready.”

After the water came the fire, and Shadow had her students climb up to the summit of a working volcano. After feeling the searing heat of molten lava, they had only reached halfway. Shadow drove them to climb the Everest to combat the element of ‘air’, pushing them through streaming blizzards and freezing high-speed winds. The group didn’t even get to enjoy the view… both because there was a massive storm around the summit and because Shadow didn’t leave them time to look, even if the skies had been clear.

After Everest and the element air came the biggest challenge of them all, the element of Earth and speleology. The group had to descend into a narrow cave, precariously grumbling and shaking as they did so. Every moment, or so it seemed, the cave could collapse on top of them. They knew they were immortal… and that was part of the fear: to be trapped under countless tons of rocks without a way out, living eternally, imprisoned under the rocks.

None of them gave any thought of the fact that they had the power to blow up the mountain. The instinctive drives and fears were too strong. As they descended, however, the cave began to narrow even more, to the point where they had to crawl on their bellies to get further. To squelch their fears, the group started communicating telepathically.

And that was their salvation. As one, they conveyed their fears, and found them identical.

<<So that’s the game,>> Ami conveyed with a shaky mental voice. <<Shadow is doing psychological warfare.>>

<<Just like everywhere else,>> Jessie Bannon added in. <<At first, it looks scary… but then, it gets better… do you think that’s the goal of this ‘test’?>>

<<Possibly,>> Ami acknowledged. <<Fear is the only thing holding us back… the memories of our mortal lives plague us. Whenever there’s something confronting us that could kill us in mortal life, we’re still afraid of it.>>

<<I have to admit, though… after this, I’m not afraid of water, fire, or air, anymore,>> Jonny Quest said. <<And after this is over, I doubt I’ll be afraid of small, tight places under ground.>>

<<Either that, or you go insane,>> Cordelia interjected with a dry chuckle. <<Because, by the Gods, this is a place where you’ll either get rid of your claustrophobia, or get it if you’ve never had it before.>>

The Master Slayers chuckled, and acknowledged that remark.

<<We need to alleviate our fears,>> Ami said, crawling further at the head of the Slayers. <<We should not fear that which can not hurt us. Fear is what keeps us back.>>

<<That’s right. We can blow up this mountain if we needed to!>> Cordelia shouted. A chorus of agreements met her, and the Master Slayers clambered forward with grim determination. Fifteen minutes later, Ami found the narrow passage widening slightly. Then the roof started tilting upwards, and soon the entire group was walking in pairs to where light was now showing. Soon, they were jogging. Then, running.

At a full sprint they left the cave, drawing in fresh air as they emerged. “Finally daylight!” someone shouted, a sentiment mimicked by the other Slayers.

“Well done,” Shadow said with a chuckle, appearing behind them. “Only took you, a bunch of Immortals, ten minutes longer then it took me, who was only a poor mortal girl at the time.”

“You’re many things, Shadow, but I am having difficulty seeing you as ‘a poor mortal girl’,” Xander quipped, causing the Master Slayers to chuckle.

“But I was,” she said. “Totally mortal. I crawled through the eye of a needle. I can count over a dozen occasions on which I thought I would not survive on the top of my head. And I can reveal dozens more if I think about it. I survived through the mind, not the body. I was as human as any of you were before you became Master Slayers.” She immediately added, “Excluding the Rangers, Sailors, and Slayers among you.”

The Master Slayers chuckled slightly.

“So, you finally figured it out?” Shadow asked.

Ami nodded, and stepped forward. With the necessary inflictions in her voice, she stated ritualistically, as if saying a credo, “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

The right corner of Shadow’s mouth lifted in quiet amusement. Daphnix chuckled openly. “I see you’ve read those ‘Dune’ books I gave you,” he said.

Ami blushed slightly, and looked at the ground. Shadow’s smile grew to the left corner of her mouth. Hands linked behind her back, she walked back and forth in front of the complete assembly of Master Slayers. Jennifer and Daphnix took positions to the left of Ami, indicating her status as third in command.

“So, you all think you’re pretty good now, don’t you?” she asked.

It was Xander who replied with an amused voice, “Yeah, well, after those four elements, you have to admit, we’re not too bad.”

Shadow smiled wider, and snapped to a halt. She turned on her heel to face the group. Her smile vanished, and a cold look replaced it. “Wrong,” she snapped coldly. “What you went through was the training you needed for the ritual itself.”

Mutters rose among the group. This was just the training? The actual test still has to start?

Shadow let the murmurs die out before she resumed. “The actual ritual takes place deep inside of each and every one of you.” She took to a lotus position on the ground, the group mimicking her. “And it shall begin… now.” Shadow spread her arms parallel to the ground, and her eerie green eyes seemed to shoot fire, seemingly taking on life of their own as the air thickened around her.

A drag-wave spread out from her arms, reaching forward to engulf the Slayers, who closed their eyes and braced themselves. The next moment, silence descended over the group as the Slayers slipped deep into an unconscious state resembling death. No heartbeat could be detected, no breathing distinguished. Shadow smiled, closed her eyes, and allowed herself to delve deep into meditation. Five seconds later, she was floating a meter above the ground.

 

Jennifer opened her eyes, and found herself standing in the middle of a large circular room. The room was high, at least 10 meters, erected of a reddish-black stone, and lit by various torches placed strategically around the walls. The floor was an even slab of sand-color rock Jennifer couldn’t identify. Jennifer spun around. The room had a diameter of at least 10 meters.

About two meters from the walls, a circle had been etched into the rocky underground, and in each ‘corner’ stood a two-meter long fire-post made from what appeared to be wrought iron. Jennifer took a breath, and moved.

Immediately, the ground shook, as if a great weight had moved. Jennifer startled, looking around. Next to each fire-post, a large, petrified creature had appeared. Jennifer wanted to examine them closer, and thus moved toward one. Immediately, the creature seemed to take a more normal shape, as if it had been encased in stone, an encasing which now dropped.

The creature walked toward her, and Jennifer’s eyes narrowed as she went into ‘combat mode’. She knew enough about demons to be cautious, even though her rational mind warned her that none of this was necessary. Her powers had grown beyond anything anyone had ever reached. Nothing could touch her… such was the blessing and the curse of the Gods of the Universe.

But still, Jennifer circled the creature wearily. Something was amiss, her instincts going through the roof with warning messages.

“Just what are you?” she asked, as she doubled back in time with the creature. They were now circling each other counter-clockwise.

“Water,” the creature rumbled, its body suddenly liquefying, and disappearing through the rocky underground. Jennifer’s eyes went wide, and she jumped up, catapulting herself to the vaulted ceiling, to which she clung.

A jet of water appeared from the ground below her, startling the Amazon with its strength and intensity as it pressed her against the ceiling. Jennifer gurgled as she summed her strength to break free. She howled, balling her fists. Ki exploded around her, her eyes shifting in color in conjunction with her hair-color.

Super-Jennifer touched down inside the ring.

“Don’t leave the ring,” the creature gurgled as it reassembled into its original shape.

“Figured that,” Super-Jennifer growled, and launched towards the creature. To her intense surprise, the creature matched her in speed and strength. Growling louder, Jennifer Altered, her speed exploding. Again, the creature matched her in speed and strength.

That is impossible! I am a Phalanx, in the name of the Gods!!! Jennifer howled as her ki went to Super-2, the accelerator slits on her Alter-Armor coming to life. Jennifer’s speed went through the roof, but still the creature matched her.

What was worse, it now started to drive her back slowly but steadily. One step at a time, Jennifer was forced to take small steps back. Finally, after what appeared to be ages, Jennifer became aware that her foot was nearing the circle. She couldn’t give way any more. Howling, raising her power level even further, Jennifer managed to bring the creature to a standstill.

It just smiled, and Jennifer knew that it was still holding back speed. Having no other choice, she jumped up, vaulting over the overbalanced creature, and landing with a dull thud onto the rock floor, sending shards of it flying in all directions. Immediately, she jumped off, towards the stumbling creature’s back, intending to hit him out of the ring.

To her surprise, her fist didn’t meet resistance, and went right through its watery body. Jennifer stumbled herself, and found her sole support leg swept away from her by a recovered creature. Jennifer landed hard on her back, yet rolled away soon after to avoid the follow-up attack.

This is impossible, Jennifer though as she drew her Dragon’s Blade. The soft golden glow of the sword spread over her body, and her intense eyes grew a golden rim. Screaming, she went after the creature, which simply smiled, and stood there as her sword went through its body time and time again, inflicting no damage whatsoever.

Jumping back, panting, Jennifer eyes the creature, which was still smirking at her. “Bane of Darkness,” the Amazon grunted, smirking evilly at the creature. “Let’s see you beat this!”

The creature started walking towards her. Slowly, deliberately. “You will not defeat me, Young One. I am the embodiment of Water. No weapon can harm me.”

Jennifer stared at him, deactivating the full power of the Bane, allowing it to shift back to the Dragon’s Blade, which she sheathed. “What do I need to do?”

“Be pure,” the creature’s simple reply was.

“Be pure. Great,” she answered sarcastically. “Why don’t you try something cryptic next?”

The creature cocked his head. “Be pure,” it repeated.

“How?”

The creature motioned for the floor. The rock inside of the circle vanished, and Jennifer would have hit the water that came in its place if she hadn’t managed to catch herself and float above it, just like the creature apparently did. The creature motioned for the water. “Be pure,” it said a third time.

“I dive in? And then what?” Jennifer asked. The creature showed one long finger at her, and motioned down.

“To the bottom?” The creature nodded. Jennifer smiled, and jumped. Hands extended towards the deep, the mystic warrior kicked in her powers. She wanted this over with. The water boiled in her wake, unable to vaporize due to the pressure. Riding the shockwave, Jennifer felt the tremendous pressure climbing. Her ears popped.

How deep am I now? she wondered, her eyes opening slightly wider in surprise when her Alter Armor supplied her with a depth gauge. Six kilometers below the surface. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve. Jennifer asked for a pressure gage as well, and soon found it going ballistic. Even with her Super-mode, and her full Alter Armor, she could feel her bones start to crush.

“Magic Augmentation! FULL POWER!!!!” Magic energy detonated around her body, and Jennifer was relieved as her boosted body could handle the pressure again. Depth, 30 kilometers. Thirty-five. Forty. Forty-five. Fifty.

Jennifer swallowed some saliva. I’m not sure I can trust these gauges any more. It’s totally dark, cold as hell, and the pressure is unbelievable. How much deeper do I have to go? This is ridiculous… Jennifer felt her Alter Armor give way. No! Not yet… I haven’t reached the bottom yet! This can’t be happening! What am I doing wrong?

As the woman traveled deeper and deeper, and the pressure on her continued to climb, her mind started to crack. Panic crept its way along her nerves, causing her to shudder. No… I can’t die! Closing her eyes, Jennifer drew a breath of ice-cold water. Her Immortal body converted it to air. Now that she was ‘breathing’ again, Jennifer’s mind relaxed.

Okay… I’m at 75 kilometers now. Pressure is through the roof. The end is nowhere in sight. What am I doing wrong? Jennifer’s eyes closed, and her mind reflected upon earlier. She could hear Ami’s voice. Fear is the mind-killer.

Jennifer’s eyes snapped open. I must not fear! Jennifer drew a calming breath of water. The Alter Armor, her Super-mode and the Magic Augmentation all fell away at the same time. Jennifer half expected to be crushed. Instead, the pressure seemed to be totally gone. With the loss of her Alter, she no longer knew how deep she was, but she cast out her Mental probes. She found herself at nearly a hundred kilometers beneath the surface.

With the loss of her fear, Jennifer still felt the pressure… but it no longer hurt her, or even damaged her. She realized Shadow’s lesson. Pain and damage are only pain and damage when you allowed them to be. Her body was Gerius now. Boosted by the Gods. It took something other than mere water to damage it. At an estimated depth of 120 kilometers, Jennifer hit the bottom. Literally.

She pulled on the ring that was embedded in the rock. The next moment, she was pulled in a direction she had no idea existed, and her head surfaced. Jennifer jumped out of the water, and onto the floor of the same room she had left earlier. Finally out of the freezing water, the comfy room felt burning hot to the Amazon.

 

Ami looked around the same room. Water was her element. She had not had any problems figuring out what had to be done, and as such, had a really comfortable trip to the bottom of the pit. The Water Element had disappeared. In its place, a second creature advanced upon her.

“Who are you?” Ami asked, looked at the second creature.

“Fire,” it said.

“What do I need to do?” the blue-haired girl inquired this time.

Fire pointed up. The roof vanished, revealing a tunnel. Ami looked at it, and nodded. “I understand,” the young warrior said, lifting up, and disappearing into the tunnel. Behind her, the roof replaced itself, and Ami had no choice but to keep going upwards. The tunnel, made from black bricks, suddenly started to glow a dull red. Now that she had light to look by, the girl noticed that the tunnel disappeared into a single point a long, long way above her.

Kicking in higher speed, Ami continued her way. Sweat formed on her body.

It’s so hot.

The red glow intensified, as did the burning hot temperature in the tunnel. Her sweat was really pouring now, and Ami was panting in the heat. I must not fear, she repeated to herself. Fear is the mind-killer, the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

Ami continued upward, the temperature was now well over the boiling point of water. Ami’s body was sweating profusely. Her mouth hung open, her breath panting for refreshing air that wasn’t there. She felt as if the walls were closing in on her. Her chest tightened, making it hard to breathe. Ami stopped breathing altogether, using her Mental abilities to stop mot of her body’s functions.

Then, the air around her seemed to explode. Fire was everywhere. Heat was licking at her clothes, singing them in their relentless pursuit of her flesh. It felt as if her blood was boiling, and Ami screamed in pain as her eyes seemed to burst from her skull.

NO!!! I must…not…FEAR! I must…not FEAR!!! Over and over, the young girl repeated her credo. She forced the fear from her heart, banishing to hidden depths within her subconscious. But it was still there, riding outside her consciousness, where it festered away. The orange-red flames increased in their ferocity, and Ami could see traces of blue and white in there, making the entire place even hotter. It was as if her skin was melting, and her heart was pumping blood-vapor instead of liquid through her veins.

The pain was unbelievable. The charring of her flesh, the boiling of her physical water supply. The pain. Ami had never felt such pain. Her tears boiled off before they had chance to settle. Blinded by boiling eye-fluid, and numb from the pain, Ami’s mind was slipping into catatonia. It was withdrawing from the plain of the physical pain.

Ami allowed her fear to come back to the surface. She had just one last gambit to play. Ordering her brain to totally ignore any and all physical input, Ami was now nothing more than an Immortal mind. Nothing existed in this place of total darkness. Nothing permeated here, no sound, no pain, no touch. The Plains of Despair, Frederic had called them, where the mind existed in a state of total detachment.

Ami’s mind calmed in this place of detachment. Healing itself quickly and seemingly effortlessly, it focused on the source of its pain. The fear of the fire must be the cause, Ami thought. It’s ridiculous. I’m immortal. It can’t hurt me.

Ami’s mental eyes went wide-open. But it CAN hurt me! It can hurt me, but it can’t damage me! That is the difference!!!

Ami returned to the physical world, throwing open all her connections at once. Her mind had healed, and gained insight. Her body adapted, and soon all Ami felt was the temperature, without searing, charring, boiling or exploding sensations. The young girl reached the ceiling not long after, and pulled on the ring. She emerged head-down from the tunnel she had originally disappeared in.

 

Rei flipped over, and landed in a crouch on the floor, next to the water-pit, which was still open. The fire test was a breeze, the Fire Priestess thought as she righted herself. But that water test hurt like friggin’ hell. Killed me four times before I got it. A third figure made its way over to her.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“Earth,” the creature said.

“What do I do?” the priestess asked. The creature motioned for the wall behind her. Turned over, the girl saw a cubic cage. She turned to the creature, and nodded. “I understand.” After that, she entered.

As she expected, the room sealed behind her. Rei looked around the room, scanning for what to do. She half expected the room to shrink or something. Instead, she found, in one corner, a hole in the wall. It was way too small for her to crawl through, but it offered enough room for her to put her hand and arm through. On the other side there appeared to be plenty of room.

Rei withdrew her arm, and looked at the hole, sitting on her knees. As all Master Slayers, she was wearing the Master Slayer version of the ESMF uniform. Deciding that this was her test, the Fire Priestess slammed her hands next to the hole, and she smiled in satisfaction when portions of it gave way. Slowly, she made the hole bigger, and soon the Priestess had ample room to crawl through.

The moment her feet left the cubic room, it collapsed. Rei jumped. Or rather, she would have jumped if her small crawl-space left her the room for it. Knowing that this was now a way of no return, she crawled forward, clearing rubble and widening narrow passages as she went. The sharp rocks cut into her hands, hands, belly, back, and legs. She was covered in scraped and cuts, and the Priestess groaned in pain.

Still, she pressed on. The rocks became harder to clear, and soon the Priestess no longer was able to clear a passageway she could crawl through cleanly. Pushing herself through ends that were only just large enough caused even larger cuts and scrapes.

After she wrestled herself through an especially small part that needed her to exhale before she would fit, the tunnel behind her collapsed. Rei grunted in frustration, as she wasn’t even able to look over her shoulder. She only felt the shudder that went through the rock around her, and the thundering of the collapsing bedrock sounded firmly in her ears. Rei drew a deep breath.

Or tried to, at least. The tunnel was too narrow for her to fully breathe in, and the Priestess felt panic arise within her. Her arms were stuck in front of her. Bedrock above, bedrock below, bedrock behind… she was unable to move. Rei closed her eyes, forcing herself to calmness.

She screamed in rage, fueling her body to full power. She tried to move. And failed.

Rei started to struggle against the unyielding rock around her, causing nothing more than the bedrock above her to shudder and threatening to collapse fully on top of her.

The Priestess was stuck. Completely stuck. This wasn’t an ordinary mountain, and she knew it… there wasn’t a mountain on the planet she could not blow up, yet this one barely budged when she applied full power.

Fully Alter, Super 2, MA 2, and still the mountain around her didn’t move. Rei tried to breathe, yet there was no air left. Instinctively, her body started to convulse, panicking for non-necessary air and non-existing freedom of movement. The ceiling budged. Rei didn’t notice.

It collapsed. That she noticed. Now she wasn’t only stuck, but buried under countless tons of bedrock. Rei was in a total state of panic, trying with all her conscious and subconscious mind to move. But she couldn’t.

Tears flowed over her face as the helpless girl struggled, her mind totally unable of clear and conscious thought. Air was totally gone now, but her struggling body was still gasping for it. It took her hours before she had totally exhausted herself, going at maximum power output in her struggles against the bedrock. She had moved nothing.

She lay there, panting in the oxygen-deprived air, unable to think, unable to move, in total darkness. Her eyes open, or her eyes closed, it didn’t matter. Rei couldn’t move. She would never be able to move again, she was sure of it.

Finally, with the calmness only given to those who have lost all hope of life, Rei managed to think.

I’ll be buried here for ever. I didn’t die… yet… but I will. No air. I can’t move. Stuck under Gods only know how many mountains worth of rock. I can’t breathe, even if there were air… the rock on top of me is squishing me. I’m useless… Bor…I’m sorry, Borlan.

The Priestess would have let out her breath, if she had it, and laid her head to rest. She relaxed. Death would come soon, she was sure.

I’m such a useless Master Slayer, the girl thought. I can’t get it. Fear is the mind-killer, yeah right. I’m not afraid of death, I’m not afraid of being buried, and I’m not afraid of this gods-forsaken mountain!!! And what does it get me? I still can’t move!

At that point, her eyes opened, even though they had no use in the total darkness that was Rei’s underground prison. There’s a second lesson! Not just fear, but acceptance! Acceptance is the way of the universe! Fighting is a sign of strength, but accepting is the sign of divinity!

Rei focused, channeling her Alter. She found that it did what she asked without trouble. An ethereal feeling wormed its way down her spine, spreading through her body. Rei was happy. She was one with the universe, able to feel its workings, its intricacies, and able to work within those rules, regulations, and chaotic intricacies. She flowed through the rock like air, and finally reached the ring.

She pulled, and appeared head-first out of the cubic chamber she had started out in.

 

Makoto righted herself. She had enjoyed the Earth-challenge, her larger body not having the least of trouble flowing through the narrow fissures in the rock. The last of the four elements walked towards her.

“Let me guess, you’re Air, right?” she asked with a friendly smile.

Air dipped its head, and motioned for a room on the opposite end of the Earth-room. Makoto smiled, nodded, and walked to it. It closed behind her. To her surprise, she could see the ring fitted firmly in the opposite wall. She could just walk up to it, and pull it.

So she tried. After taking one step closer, wind seemed to pick up, and Makoto found herself pushed backwards. She grunted, and braced herself. She growled, and instantaneously turned Super-MA. She advanced two steps before halting.

How is this possible? The girl thought to herself. I was able to move under 120 kilometers of water! I moved without trouble under a pressure of 12,317 kilograms of force per square centimeter! That’s twelve THOUSAND times normal! And here… air… I’m halted? What is going on here? It’s like the air has created this wall that’s impossible to penetrate!

Makoto drew a breath. At least it’s not life-threatening, like the other tests. No drowning, burning, or burying involved.

A tingle scraped over the back of her neck, and Makoto’s instincts caused her to look over her shoulder. Sharp spikes had materialized from the wall behind her. She connected the dots.

If I lose my footing, the wind will impale me.

Makoto looked forward once again, forcing her body to release more power. She wasn’t afraid. Makoto closed her eyes. She needed to get to the ring. She visualized it; saw it through her closed eyelids. The ring. Nothing but the ring. She needed to pull it. She was going to pull it.

Her mind also visualized the transparent wall of air that kept her from moving. It was impossible to penetrate. She knew so… just like it was impossible to move through the rocks in the challenge of Earth, it was impossible to move through the wall of air that kept her form the ring.

Makoto thought about what she had learned so far. I was taught not to fear by Water. I was taught that pain means nothing by Fire. Acceptance is the way of things by Earth. I do not fear the spikes behind me, for I know that I will heal, and therefore, the pain is meaningless. Acceptance… Accept the air…

Makoto dropped her power. Power is meaningless. Acceptance is the way of things. The girl remained in place. She took a step forward as an ethereal calm came over her. And another step.

Then she was stopped again. The wall of air had thickened even further. Makoto once again stood in her braced position, pushing against the air that was blasting her from the front.

Fear. Pain. Acceptance. Makoto repeated the words over and over, like a credo. What is the next step? Fear is way of the subconscious. Pain is the one of consciousness. Acceptance is the way of the universe. What is bigger than the universe, and what is its way?

Helplessly, the girl struggled against the wind, deafening her with the wheezing in her ears. There wasn’t much she could do.

Except stay calm, which was exactly what she did. She, Makoto, usually the one who charged in with all guns blazing before thinking things through, remained calm, and went over her options. She smiled at her level of control. Being a Master Slayer had worked miracles on her.

I…I can’t find it… I don’t see it…the girl thought miserably. I’ve…failed… Shadow…the Wise One… the others… I’m weak. Pathetic. Useless. I’m sure the solution is really simple, but I just don’t see it!!!

Makoto growled. I CAN’T be useless! The Wise One said it! We answer only to Frederic, and the Divine Laws! There is nothing we can NOT do!! The brunette’s eyes went wide-open, her face displaying a baffled look. I have it. By the Blessing of the Gods of the Universe, I have it!

She stood up straight, no longer bracing herself. The wind blew past her, seemingly not affecting her, even though it was tugging at her clothes. Calmly, she walked to the ring, and casually pulled it.

She appeared in the middle of pandemonium as the circular main room was trembling on its very foundations, the fire from the posts and torches was flowing through the air as a liquid, merging with the hellish red glow that permeated the very air she breathed.

Makoto, however, felt oddly calm about the display of fire, air, and earth. She merely stood there, at the edge of the Water Test, looking slightly up, watching the dazzling display of light and color. She did jump a step backwards when all four Tests collapsed at the same time, sending gas and smoke into the mix of elemental effects in the room.

But still, deep in her hear, Makoto was at ease. Or rather, she was at peace. She had unlocked something deep within her subconscious… something that could have come only from the abilities of the Jokilar Gerius.

As the trembling of the room intensified, the liquid fire seemed to settle, then disappear. Now emerged in darkness, the only illumination came from a faint red glow of the black brick walls. Makoto could hardly see her own shadow, let alone anything else, yet she remained looking at the same spot she had been looking at. Faster and harder the trembling became, and Makoto broke out a feint smile.

“In the name of the Gerius,” she whispered.

“I summon thee,” Rei said, looking at the exact same spot as Makoto.

“By the powers of the Gods of the Universe,” Ami intoned.

“I release thee,” Jennifer summoned.

The trembling became a major earthquake, and the circle inside of the circular room started to glow a bright yellow. The floor inside the circle glowed in intense lighting, casting ghostly shadow through the red-tinted air. One quadrant lit white. Air. One was red. Fire. A third was blue. Water. The fourth was brown. Earth. In the exact middle, where the four quadrants intersected, a transparent circle grew.

Element Five.

“Where space, and time, and thought unite.”

 

One by one, the Master Slayers drew a breath as they awake from Shadow’s mentally-induced test. Jennifer. Daphnix. Ami. Rei. Minako. Makoto. Usagi. Mamoru. Buffy. Willow. Xander. Cordelia. Angel. Oz. Jonny. Jessie. Hadji. Tommy. Kimberly. Aisha. Billy. Adam. Rocky.

Shadow let out her breath. “I’m glad to see that you all survived,” she said.

Instinctive realization dawned upon the tested group. “We could have died,” Buffy said, calmly. A statement, not a question, nor an accusation.

Shadow shook her head. “You should have died,” she said. The Gerius looked blankly at her, everyone calmly waiting for her to continue. “What I did… was the last test. It’s the hardest test a person can endure… the test of one’s self by one’s self. You…each of you… were in a state where your own minds, your own abilities were turned against you. Your subconscious tested your consciousness. It is the only thing that no-one should be able to defeat.”

“Then how are we alive?” Jonny asked calmly.

“What we did when we went through the purification was allow ourselves to grow. Grow beyond the mortal limitations our subconscious minds bestow upon us. Grow beyond the confines of your human background, beyond the downside of growing up ‘normal’.” Shadow stood up. “We shed our mortal lives, and embraced our destinies as Jokilar Gerius, the second in command over the entire Realm of Existence. What we did…what we became…was what the Gods of the Universe wanted us to be when they offered us this gift.”

“Yes…” Ami whispered. “What we did… what we learned… is incredible.” The others nodded.

Shadow stood up straight, shoulders squared, at perfect attention. “Now we all know why there have not been Jokilar Gerius for nineteen billion, two hundred fifty million, three hundred ninety-three thousand, five hundred five human years. Ladies and Gentlemen, you are now officially inaugurated as Jokilar Gerius, second under the Gods of the Universe, commanders of the Angels, Archangels, Seraphim, the Q, and all the armies of the Gods of the Universe.”

As one, the group snapped at attention, fists clenched over their hearts. “Yes, SIR!”

“Now, Unification,” Shadow said to the assembly of warriors. “It’s simple. Gerius, you must separate yourselves from the group. Separately, you must find your place on this world, the place where you feel most as peace, and stay there. I will come for you… hunting. It is the test to become on with your surroundings, find the state of mind that will allow you to find me.”

The Gerius nodded, and disappeared as they blasted off into the air. All but Jennifer, who was still at attention.

“Jennifer?” Shadow asked, stepping towards the woman.

“I can find you through the Link,” Jennifer answered as she looked down at the short warrior.

Shadow smiled. “Yes. But you have the honor not to use that option. I know so. You, Jennifer, Amazon Warrior, Phalanx ad interim, Second of the Jokilar Gerius, you have the honor not to use this unfair advantage.”

“The object of war is to win,” Jennifer answered. “The end justifies the means.”

Shadow chuckled, and looked at the ground, before looking back at the woman with an amused twinkle in her green eyes. “What would you have me do?”

Jennifer shrugged. “I don’t know. All I know is that this test is unfair toward the others…”

“True,” Shadow replied, turning to one side, and staring off into infinity. “They’ve already begun. I can no longer feel them. The Universe has accepted them into its folds. They are as much part of it as it is of them.”

Jennifer turned as well, and looked in the same direction. “I know.”

Shadow glanced at the tall woman next to her. “Find them,” the raven-haired warrior told the Amazon. “If you can find them, then your test is over.”

Jennifer dipped her head, and closed her eyes. Her breath became rhythmic.

 

When night fell, six hours later, Shadow was sitting lazily against a tree, her head resting against the trunk, eyes closed. Jennifer was still seated in a lotus position, eyes closed, sweat dripping from her pale face. Her mind felt like mush. So far, she had been unable to locate any of the Slayers. Not a single trace of their existence remained to the Amazon warrior. No ki, no disturbance in the Force, no traces on the magical plains. Nothing. It was as if only she and Shadow were present on Earth 004, and the only reason Jennifer could tell that was because Shadow was only ten meters away, and she could hear the warrior’s breathing.

Night had set fully half an hour later, and Shadow calmly got up, and walked to the struggling Amazon. She knelt behind the woman, wrapped her arms tightly around her, and put her head on Jennifer’s shoulder. Shadow closed her eyes.

You are having difficulty, the warrior said in Jennifer’s Mental Realm.

No kidding, Jennifer replied evenly. I couldn’t even find you if you weren’t breathing. I heard your breath. That’s all.

Then let me guide you, Shadow whispered. Relax… don’t force yourself. Let me guide you to the state of Inner Sight. Only with it will you be able to see.

Jennifer let her mind and body relax as Shadow’s mind overlapped hers. I still can’t believe how easily you pick up these skills… you’ve had them a couple of hours longer than us, yet you’ve mastered them before we ever came to this rock.

Untrue, shadow retorted. I went through the same training you did. I knew what to do, and how to make you do it. But I had yet to do them myself… But I have an advantage of 250 years of Universal Savior training. I can learn in minutes what takes an ordinary Phalanx hours, and a really talented human weeks or months.

Damn, Jennifer grunted.

Now, let us get back to training, shadow said with a cheerful tone to her voice. Let me guide you to Inner Sight…

Jennifer relaxed, her mind following Shadow’s instructions, following it through stages of sight the Amazon had yet to fully explore. As her breathing relaxed, her hearing seemed to increase in accuracy, and soon the Amazon heard the sound of her own heartbeat, the rustling of leaves in the wind, as well as the wind itself.

Now you’re hearing, the warrior spoke. But this is only the first stage. Your mind is accepting now… no forcing the body, but rather, letting the body do what it does best. Shadow and Jennifer took a breath in conjunction. Both bodies had fully synchronized now, two hearts beating as one, two sets of lungs taking identical breaths of air. No you’re ready. Become Earth. Accept the Universe around you. Let it guide you, teach you, bring you insight. Be part of the Universe, just like it is part of you. Become the Gerius, the warrior of the Universe around. I can not do this for you…

Become the Universe, Jennifer repeated. Be one with the Universe…

The two women remained like that, locked together, one woman guiding the other as best she could. Jennifer felt her senses cast out, her instinctive understanding deepen. She was learning. Learning to listen to what the Universe was reporting to her, as Gerius. It was telling her what to do… all she had to do was listen. So, she listened.

Jennifer opened her eyes, but they no longer saw the world as she was used to. Instead, her view was a distorted image of unknown dimensions and parallels. At once, she understood. The Force. Magic. The Mental Realms. The Astral Plain. Sight. Sound. Smell. Touch. Shadow let go of Jennifer, allowing the Amazon to stand up.

Her arm went into one direction. “Buffy.” The arm changed positions. “Ami.” One by one, Jennifer went over the positions of the Jokilar Gerius.

“Well done,” shadow complimented the woman as she came down from her high, allowing her normal sight to take over once again. “How did you do it?”

“They’ve hidden themselves,” Jennifer said. “Their Ki is one with the environment. Impossible to detect. Their magic is hidden behind the background noise of life. Their Force is hidden deep within their subconscious. There is no way to detect them… they’re good. The only way to detect them is by utilizing the one thing that can not be shielded: their existence. Their presence shifts air, their heartbeats cause sound. All of this has a reaction in nature… so I listened to nature; let it tell me where disturbances are occurring. It took me a while to figure out what disturbances were what, but I have now accurately determined what constitutes a human Gerius in hiding.”

Shadow smiled, and nodded. “Exceptional work. Myself, I used gravity wells.”

“Gravity wells?” Jennifer asked.

“Some principle, but to the laws of physics. They exist, thus they disturb the gravitational field of the Earth. Now, tell me, how did you determine the identity of those you found?”

“Once I locked on to a disturbance, I took over the existence of a nearby plant or animal, and used that to look.”

Shadow laughed. “Well done,” she said again. “Come. Let us begin the hunt.”

“Who shall we begin with?” Jennifer asked as the twosome loosened their muscles.

“The leaders. Ami, Usagi, Buffy, Jonny, and Rocky,” Shadow said. “Being the leader has downsides… namely, less time to get it down.”

As the duo lifted into the air, Jennifer asked, “Do you think they have it by now? I mean, you helped me…”

Shadow smiled slightly. “I helped you, yes. I don’t know why, but you were the last to acquire Sight. I felt the scans of the others. But I can say that you have the most accurate of the Sights, though. It evens out.”

 

Angel stopped his breathing, and closed his eyes. Habitually, he slipped into Sight Trance, checking unhindered through the waterfall he was hiding behind. He was the last one. One by one, his companions had fallen. One by one, he had detected the flashes of power as they stopped hiding themselves, nearly blinding his hyper-accurate senses.

He was the last one. Angel didn’t know whether that was a curse or a blessing. He remained perfectly calm, his senses tracking Shadow and her sensor ghost. Still, he had been unable to find out who the mysterious signal was. He could detect Shadow easily enough… she was the only one capable of hiding herself like that. But the second one… the second one was what bothered him. Its senses were incredibly accurate, and Angel suspected that more than one of his companions had fallen due to that uncanny detection ability.

Angel rechecked his physical parameters, and found them all attuned to the environment. He was as invisible as he could make himself, pressed between a face of rocks and a waterfall.

His senses were still locked on to Shadow and her ghost. Shadow’s shadow, he though to himself with a dry chuckle. They were coming toward him. Then, suddenly, they dropped off his senses, and Angel knew that he was in trouble. They had landed. Now they were off his scopes and senses. Trying a couple different ways of scanning, he managed to retake the signal within five minutes.

Unfortunately for him, that meant they were right on top of him. Or rather, on top of the waterfall he was hiding under. Angel closed his eyes, and tried to make his signal as small as he could. And then… then it happened. It was as if a warm blanket folded over him, and Angel just knew he was safe.

He saw Shadow plunge to the water in front of the falls. Next to her came Jennifer.

So… Jennifer’s the one who has been tracking us.

“Where is he?” he heard Jennifer ask. “He was here a minute ago!”

Shadow turned to look at the taller woman, with an obvious smile on her face. “You mean you didn’t feel that just now?”

Angel’s heartbeat stopped. Felt what?

“Felt what?” Jennifer echoed his inner turmoil.

“Angel has reached the counter, Jennifer,” Shadow explained. “You reached the top of scanning. He reached the summit of hiding. The Universe that guides you protects him. It is impossible to locate him.”

Jennifer let out her breath. “Great. Just great. So, what do we do now? Pack our bags and leave?”

Shadow chuckled. “He’s under that fall over there.”

Angel’s eyes went wide-open, and he froze in place as he stared through the falls at the small raven-haired woman.

“WHAT?” Jennifer asked, obviously mimicking his stance and facial expression.

“He’s under that fall over there,” Shadow repeated. “Just as there is the epiphany of hiding, there is the epiphany of scanning. Both cancel each other out. All you have to do then is a simple psychic scan.”

 

“So this is what we were meant to learn,” Ami said, after Jennifer, Shadow, and Angel filled everyone in on the workings of the new hide-and-seek methods. “The balance of the Universe will alter for us. We are the ones who command Water, Fire, Earth, and Wind…”

“Exactly,” Shadow said with a nod. “The Gerius obeys only to the Divine Laws.”

“We became full Gerius,” Buffy whispered, some of the people around her nodding quietly in agreement. “We became Gerius,” she repeated, a little louder, causing some of the people to look at her. “We became GERIUS!!!” she shouted at full force, ecstatic. The entire group screamed out in agreement, laughing and smiling as they did so, finally releasing the stress that the past had put on them.

A sarcastic clapping drew their attention. From somewhere, Sorcerer gently touched down. He was dressed in a black full bodysuit of armor, only his head and neck unprotected. Over his shoulders hung a cape of the same deep black. He was wearing a pair of black sunglasses. Still clapping sarcastically, he walked towards the group. “Well done,” he said with a sarcasm that could have cut raw iron. “Really well done.”

The group remained neutral, eyeing him calmly as if he were less then anything. Damnit, Fred, what did you do to these kids? He asked once again as he reminded himself of a certain stint in which he taught them to go Super.

“Sorcerer,” Shadow said calmly. “Are you looking for an ass-whooping?”

Sorcerer smirked. Before he could answer, Ami stepped forward. “Shadow-sama, allow me, please?”

Sorcerer lifted both eyebrows as he stared at the girl in the closest he had ever come to displaying shock. Shadow smirked, and dipped her head. “Go ahead.”

“You’re kidding me,” Sorcerer said as he took three steps back in order to fully step into his spot in the cleared circle the group had made. The blue-haired warrior took her place.

“I am not,” Ami said calmly. “Frederic Fromthefield known as the Sorcerer, my name is Mizuno Ami, Commander of the Jokilar Gerius. I do not wish to cause you unneeded bodily harm. Please refrain from this fight.”

Sorcerer lifted his sunglasses away, folded them neatly, and put them in a breast pocket on his armored suit. “Ami-chan, I know who you are, and I know your capabilities. Your power level hasn’t risen since we last fought. You’re the one who doesn’t stand a chance.”

Instead of replying, the girl stood erect, two feet together, as if at attention. “Then please, Sorcerer-sama, try and lay a hand on me.”

Sorcerer blinked, then smirked. He disappeared from his position, and blasted towards the girl. He drew his fist and punched. At the last moment, she blocked. Not one to be caught off-guard, Sorcerer had been expecting something like this, and started laying a barrage of kicks and punches down on her. She blocked all of them.

So, we became a fast little bitch, huh? Sorcerer thought. He smirked. Let’s see you black this. In mid-swing, he turned Super.

Ami, meanwhile, was eerily calm. It was as if she were totally at peace, and for all intents and purposes, the girl was at peace. In her mind, she heard the gentle tunes of a violin, and her skin tingled happily as her mind recalled the events of her waking up in Daphnix’s arms. She was happy… and her body and mind knew. She knew where Sorcerer was going to hit. All she had to do was react ahead of time.

Sorcerer went Super-2. This is impossible! How can she be this fast!? Her power level has remained the same! This is impossible! Sorcerer went magic Augmentation level 2, and threw a punch toward her midsection that was designed purely for maximum damage and power.

Ami dodged to one side, and for the first time, retaliated. Her small hand pushed at his chest. Sorcerer was catapulted half a meter backward, and he landed on his right knee. She knows how to project her Ki through defenses? This is ridiculous! I heard of the Gerius, that there were supposed to be unbeatable, but that it was this insane I never would have believed!

Sorcerer went to MA 7 right there and then. Remaining on his one knee, he extended his right arm, prepping it up on his left one. A barrage of magically enhanced ki-blasts shot towards the girl.

Ami, meanwhile, remained perfectly calm. She simply lifted her arm. The bolts deflected at a certain point, grinding into the ground, blasting harmlessly into space, or disappearing in between the people located around them.

Sorcerer’s eyes went wide. Okay… now I’m spooked. That’s impossible. Nothing can deflect magic like that…not without draining a LOT of magical stamina. Not even Fred or I are stupid enough to do it… yet she does it without breaking a fucking sweat!!

Sorcerer snarled in rage, and lifted himself into the air. This can’t be, damnit! I can vaporize her with a single hit, yet I can’t lay a fucking hand on her! He raised his hands. But I refuse to use my new abilities. Not yet. Magical energies amassed around Sorcerer’s body, settling on his outstretched hands. “FULL Armageddon!!!” he screamed, releasing a blast of fiery-red energies towards the girl on the ground.

Ami drew her Sword, which shifted into the Bane in mid-draw, and lifted it. The purple-glowing blade met the blast of magic dead-on, angling it away from her, but causing the surrounding Gerius to jump to safety.

Inside, Ami was still peacefully calm. She could feel the pain of the blade; feel the rising agitation in her arm-companion. As it started feeding on her as well as the magic, she knew the time was right.

“Blast of the Heavens,” she whispered.

The purple-glowing blade turned to full black as it released a jet of purple energy towards Sorcerer. The beam cut through Sorcerer’s blast, splitting it in half as it angled toward him. Sorcerer’s eyes went fully open, and he dodged just in time for the Blast to miss him.

He fell to the ground with one right arm missing. An ethereal green glow came form his shoulder, formed an arm, and the colors filled in within seconds. Sorcerer had regenerated his arm.

“Okay, Chief Brat. Now I will kill you,” he grunted, feeling his mind connect to the little marvel on his right ring finger.

Ami shook her head, and pointed up. Sorcerer looked. The Blast of the Heavens had turned around, and came after him. “FUCK!!” Sorcerer screamed, and jumped out of its way, only to see the blast change courses in pursuit.

Looks like I’ll be needing this a lot sooner, Sorcerer grunted, feeling his powers expand as the Augmented Ring came on to full power. Sorcerer turned, and cupped his hands. The Blast of the Heavens vanished into a… something that was floating in front of his hands. The ‘fold in space’ closed within half a second.

Now I understand!! This is fucking insane!! She saw through time, and predicted my movements! And when my magic was deflected… it was space itself! Space-time bent around her, folding in on itself! It would take hours to compute the gravity coefficients needed to bend space in the right ways, yet she does it in mid-combat!!!

Just who and what is she?

Sorcerer fell to the ground. “I know about the Blast of the Heavens,” the man said calmly as his transformations deactivated. As his powers from the ring came to full power, he could feel the glamour over his eyes give. Dark blue pupils on light blue background stared at Ami. “I am the Master Warp Mage known as Sorcerer. I have studied, researched, and labored, and now I will have the fruits of my work. Ami, I will destroy you.”

Ami dipped her head. “I do not fear you.”

Sorcerer smiled. “You will. With my new powers comes increased insight. Letting the Force predict my movements will not work when I can predict yours through Spice addiction. You will no longer be able to block my movements. And Warp Magic bends space and time, just like you do… so it will cut through your dimensional defenses.”

Ami smiled. “I still do not fear you.”

Sorcerer dipped his head in acknowledgement. “And my Ring gives me control over the Universe. Where it willingly supports you, it will subject it to my will. Now we have evened out. Mizuno Ami, Leader of the Gerius, I will once again show you fear.”

“Please do,” Ami answered, balling her fists, and getting into a combat stance. Sorcerer blasted toward, launching a complicated serious of moves that left the girl dazzled, yet not seriously harmed.

Ami dropped into a combat stance from ancient times. Sorcerer didn’t recognize the stance, but no longer felt concerned. He smiled, and launched again. This time, Ami was blasted backward, and she skidded a couple of meters over the rocky ground before coming to a stop. Blood seeped from where her back had scraped over the bottom.

Ami stood up. The wounds disappeared instantly. Her blood vanished. Once again, the girl stood in her ancient stance. Her mind was still playing violin music. She was still at peace.

Again and again Sorcerer used his superior strength and speed to out-do the young Gerius. Sorcerer’s fist cut through her dimensional defenses, and hit her on the cheek, snapping her head to one side, and sending blood and three teeth flying. At the same time, his fist hit her chest, blasting her backward, her feet digging grooves into the ground. Her face was still to one side, yet Sorcerer blinked into existence next to her, and kicked her face into the opposite direction, sending the girl flying. She hit the ground with a dull thud.

She crawled to her feet, her wounds disappearing instantly. “Okay. This is not working,” she whispered, and slowly looked up at Sorcerer with so much venom he took a step back. Her mind changed. The violin became a beating crescendo of an entire symphonic orchestra. Her eyes shot fire.

“As Jokilar Gerius, I, Mizuno Ami, label you a category C threat,” the girl intoned. “I am breaching the seal on the level one powers!” A red seal glowed over her eyes, before disappearing.

Shock rippled through the assembled group of Master Slayers, and all stared in shock at the girl. All except for Shadow, who was simply smiling. She’s evolving fast…  the warrior smirked. I have had no time to explore my new powers… I had no idea they were sealed. But she…she is learning under combat conditions. The teacher has become the taught. Ami, I commend you.

The air around the girl coagulated, becoming thick as water. Ripples were visible in it. With the unlocking of more of her Gerius-potential, the girl has also reached a deeper understanding. She balled her fists.

The ripples in the air transferred to the ground as well, and Sorcerer had to lift into the skies to avoid being thrown to the ground. The others, however, simply remained standing. It was as if the waving ground had no effect on them. Of course it hasn’t, Sorcerer grunted to himself. They’re in command of everything… not even physics has a grip on them. Rather, they have a grip on physics. They can change it at will… The laws of physics are below them now.

Ami took a breath. Energy exploded around her. The moment her Super-transformation kicked in, ripples moved through every sense, every scope, and every plane of existence Sorcerer had access to. The Force realigned, cutting him off completely from accessing it. The magic was the same, and if Sorcerer hadn’t created the Augmented Ring to create his own magic, he would have been in serious trouble right now. Across the psychic and astral planes the ripples traveled, blinding the senses he had cast out there.

It took fifteen seconds before the upheaval died down enough for Sorcerer look. He was sitting on one knee, arms crossed in front of him, five meters from his last position, having been pushed backward from his original position by the simple act of space-time bending as the girl demanded more power.

Sorcerer got up. “This will be so interesting.”

Ami made a swiping motion of her hand. Sorcerer was blasted sideways. Ami’s mouth no longer moved. Instead, it was the universe around her that made the air vibrate. “I have united Heart, Mind, Body, and Soul. I have become the Jedi Lord, the Master Mage, the full embodiment of the Jokilar Gerius. Sorcerer, one last time. Yield.”

Sorcerer got up, grinning, and swiping slightly at his split lip. “You’ve got to be joking, Brat. The game is just getting interesting.”

Ami’s eyes narrowed dangerously, and she dropped into her ancient combat stance. “I know that you can penetrate my dimensional shields, but it will not help you,” the girl said. “I am Gerius, the supreme warrior of the universe, trained by the Universal Savior and smiled upon by the Gods of the Universe. Your parlor tricks will not help you.”

Sorcerer smiled, and threw his Spice Senses out. They hit a block, a certain point in time he couldn’t look beyond. Sorcerer shrugged it off. He was not impressed. The Ring on his right hand started glowing, and throbbing energy shot through his body. Sorcerer clenched the hand, forcing more and more power from his creation. The ground trembled, and the skies turned dark as night when the ring became engulfed with bluish energy, crackling sparks of energy flowing into it from all around the Ring, creating an electric sphere around the entire lower arm of the Master Warp Mage.

He lifted the electrically-engulfed right hand, and pointed it towards Ami. She was sure should feel him point, even though the hand itself had been entirely obscured from view. A blast of red energy formed, before being shot towards her.

Ami dodged sideways. The sphere of Warp Magic tracked her, and slammed into the hapless girl’s defenses. She was thrown backward, and she landed with a sickening sound. She crawled up without too much trouble, unclipped her Light saber, and ignited it.

But… it no longer looked like any Light saber anyone had ever seen. Instead of a straight beam of energy, this looked like a flame of bluish energy that sprouted from the handle with a vengeance. The sound it made now was deeper, more feral… scarier. Ami didn’t give Sorcerer a chance to regain his senses, and she blasted toward him.

The man barely had time to dodge backward as the enraged Gerius tore into him. By pure instinct, he managed to grab hold of his Light Saber. But before he managed to activate it and launch an effective defense, the girl had already inflicted numerous wounds on his body, cutting right through armor that was supposed to stop practically anything as if it were a mere piece of paper.

Sorcerer regained his bearings, and started retaliating, using his greater speed and strength to his advantage. Ami pressed on, giving in only marginally. Her facial expression was feral, and if Sorcerer hadn’t been Sorcerer, he would have been scared to death. He had seen the girl lose it before… but he had never seen her lose it like this.

Sorcerer aimed a slash at her head, which she ducked under and slashed at his belly. He blocked, and aimed a kick for her head. Ami dodged backward to avoid the kick, righted herself from her lowered position, jumped toward him, and aimed a slash at his neck. As he lifted his blade to defend, Ami spun around, and shot a kick at his face from the other side. Sorcerer was blasted sideways for a couple of meters, before his feet dug into the ground, and he shoved off toward her.

Ami dodged under his horizontal attack, and planted a perpendicular one to his belly. Sorcerer rolled sideways in mid-air, landed on his back, and jumped to his feet. Ami charged.

Sorcerer blocked.

The game continued for a couple more slashes before Ami started smiling, and growled something. On the other side of her Light Saber, a second feral beam of power appeared. Smiling truly evilly now, the girl flowed and tumbled through ancient forms of martial arts, her form as formless and her technique as without technique as was possible. It was impossible to predict her movements, and Sorcerer grunted as he fenced off slashes that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

He gulped. She truly is the equivalent of a Phalanx on technique and skill; he managed to think between two slashes. He fenced off half a dozen others before he had time for his next thought. But she should NOT be the equal in strength and speed. A dozen slashes passed before he found some time again. He gathered his thoughts and his courage, and shot a bolt of superheated Warp Magic directly at her chest.

The Dimensional Magic detonated around her chest, catapulting her backward, electing screams from her torn throat. Ami landed on the ground with a dull thud, bounced off, landed again, and skidded a little before stopping completely. She was lying on her wounded chest. Her face twisted in pain as she shakily pushed herself a little off the ground.

She fell again. Taking a couple deep breaths, the girl forced herself to a sitting position. Blood poured from various wounds, which closed a lot slower than before. They were still closing a lot faster than before she became Gerius, but it was definitely slower than at the start of the battle.

Ami gulped in a deep breath, and deactivated the Saber. “As team Leader of the Jokilar Gerius, I, Mizuno Ami, label you as category B threat, and hereby lift the seal of Novgoronn, enabling the second level powers!”

The night sky being generated by the Augmented Ring of Sorcerer was overridden as it suddenly glowed a pale evil purple. A truly large seal of a darker shade of the same evil purple rotated lazily above their heads. It was huge; the size of a large city, yet so far up that everyone could see its full dimensions easily. At least half the planet should have been able to see it.

The seal was a circle, divided into non-identical parts, and inscribed with runic and arcane symbols that sent only one thing down sorcerer’s mind: power. Suddenly, the seal stopped its lazy spin, yet the runic-arcane signs spun like crazy. As soon as it had started, it ended, the seal breaking apart.

Over Ami’s body, a veil of purple energy became visible, followed shortly after by it cracking, and shattering. Ami stood at full height, balled her fists, and clenched the muscles in hr neck. Popping sounds were audible as her joints seemingly went from one mode to another.

Ami felt incredible, liquid power pumping through her veins, racing down her spine and bursting along her nerves. She screamed. Only now did Ami go Super 2.

The explosions of power were not a gentle rippling but a harsh blast-wave of unimaginable proportions. Sorcerer crossed his arms in front of his face, and braced himself. He was still blasted backward a good 6 meters. The others were unaffected.

Sorcerer had been blasted backward, but he made no signs of moving. The shock was still rippling across the higher plains, Magic and Force being affected the most gravely. What he saw made his blood run cold. Ami’s presence on those plains had become an exact mirror of her earthly existence, and the plains no longer simply accepted her as such, but they were now actively moving toward her.

Magic and Force flowed toward her, circling, creating spheres of power that radiated even onto the mortal plain. The Astral Realm had become a place of sheer power, its normal greenish tint replaced by a harsh white that made Sorcerer’s Astral Senses water, as if he were looking directly at the sun.

He looked up, finding Ami in full Super 2 mode. Her physical power was still even with what it had been… it was just that she now had a whole new array of powers, on top of the fact that she knew how to control her old powers perfectly.

Sorcerer knew enough, right there and then. He went Super 1, his transformation paling in comparison to what Ami had already displayed. He went at her, not holding anything back, his fists and feet kicking and punching with everything they had, his powers going through the roof as they boosted his physical attributes to the very limits.

Ami, on her side, put up a brave defense, only to find that Frederic had been correct. You are a match in skill and technique… but in strength and speed, you’re not even close. Ami felt him avoid her attacks, she felt him penetrate her defenses, and she felt the wounds accumulate on her body. Her endurance was cutting rapidly as her body tried to regenerate the damages.

Shadow was smiling. You’re doing well, Ami. Unfortunately, he is still on my level, and my level only… I’d like to know what he did to do so… but that also means you don’t stand a chance. Not against him.

Ami landed on her back again, crying out in pain. Her physical power level was fluctuating. Her body and mind were operating on levels barely above conscious thought. All she knew was that Sorcerer was her enemy, and she would defeat him. She wrestled herself to her legs, and growled at him.

The two warriors were in mid-flight toward each other when a clear voice interrupted them. Both Ami and Sorcerer ground to a halt a mere half a meter away from each other.

“As Leader of the Jokilar Gerius, I, Shadow, authorize the release of the third level powers,” she said, her voice rising slowly in volume. “I am labeling you as Category A threat! Ami! Acknowledge the authorization! For the duration of this fight, use your power! ALL OF IT!”

Ami turned slowly to Shadow, and for a moment or two, it seemed as if the young warrior was about to tell off her teacher. Then, so very slowly, she started to smile. “Your authorization has been accepted Lady Shadow, Supreme Commander of the Jokilar Gerius,” she stated, bowing her head in the Savior’s direction.

Ami turned to Sorcerer. “Sorcerer-sama, this is your last chance. Yield.”

Sorcerer’s only response was an evil ‘you’ve got to be kidding me’ smirk.

Ami swallowed, feeling the full extent of her powers come to life within her. Like a brilliant supernova blossoming from the pit of her stomach, her power exploded around her. “I am Ami, Leader of the Gerius, Commander of Heaven’s forces! By the Power of the Gods of the Universe, I release thee!” White energy exploded around her, obscuring her from view.

Sorcerer’s eyes went wide. Again, the increase in Ami’s physical strength was comparable to before. And once again, it was the other power that made her what she was. Ami felt her power rip through the known universe as it came into full alignment.

No sound was audible on the normal realm; a deep impenetrable veil of total silence had descended upon the landscape, as if the entire universe held its breath for this moment. Sorcerer gulped. Not surprisingly, the gulp sounded like a gunshot in the eerie silence.

Ami’s powers ripped through the barriers that separated the plains from each other, a beam of white energy going across the tenth dimension, penetrating each: the normal four dimensions of space-time, the realm of the Astral Plain, the Magic, the Force, and the Psychic Plain… and finally, it tore into the Alter Dimension.

In normal space, Ami’s ethereal white fire had died down, and she now stood normal, feet slightly apart, at ease. Slowly, she drew her Bane of Darkness. “As the Elements have conjoined,” she intoned, “as the Universe has aligned itself behind me, I will unleash the full power of the Jokilar Gerius against you.” She held the sword slightly in front of her, tip-down.

She released it.

The sword kept floating in mid-air, rotating almost lazily in front of the girl’s vision. It picked up speed, the rotation increasingly going faster and faster, until it spun so fat it was merely a blur. It started glowing in Alter Light, rainbow energies coagulating on the rotating blur, as if attracted like flies to honey. Finally, the girl screamed. The Bane exploded into Alter Energies, taking large slabs of soil with it.

Ami’s body disintegrated, only to be slowly reformed. She was wearing a viciously colored purple armored battle suit that hugged her curves neatly. Her entire upper body was encrusted in the purple metallic-shine form-fitting armor. She was wearing an armored battle skirt and armored boots of the same color. On her chest, a Bane of Darkness was depicted in a darker purple shade, its hilt beginning under her neck and the tip stopping just above her skirt.

Her head was protected by a helmet of the same vicious purple as the rest of her armor, fully protecting the upper part of her head, and dropping down in spiked guards along her cheeks. At the back, the helmet dropped down until it had met with the body armor, leaving the girl’s nose, mouth and chin free.

On the higher realms, the transformation was equally impressive, as the different realms coagulated around Ami’s metaphysical presence. In the real world, this protection was visible as a sphere of yellow-golden energy that hung around her like a shield. Alter-Super 2 Ami took a breath. She lifted her head into her neck, and screeched at the skies.

“I have awakened!! After nineteen billion years, The Jokilar Gerius has finally been reawakened!!”

Sorcerer’s eyes went wide, and he took a step back.

“Fuck.”

Ami’s head came back, and her eyes glared at Sorcerer. “This Vessel has great respect for your strength. It will be my honor to grind your worthless corpse into the ground in solid defeat.” Sorcerer stared, baffled for the first time in his life, at the diminutive blue-haired girl. Her mannerisms and her voice had become regal. The girl-warrior turned around, and looked at Shadow. “Lady Shadow, for you, the Teacher of this Vessel, I feel nothing but the highest regards,” Ami(?) said with a formal bow from the waist.

Shadow dipped her head, a small smile forming. It was that smile she always had when she knew something no-one else did. Ami turned to Daphnix. “For you, the Love of the Life of this Vessel, I offer my guarantees that I will make this Vessel live through this fight with the least amount of damage possible.”

Daphnix smiled evilly. “I’d like to see you inflict some permanent damage on that beautiful body. And then I’d like to see you survive what I would do to you…whoever you are…after you’re done.”

Ami dipped her head, and turned back to Sorcerer. She dropped into the same combat stance as before. But only now did it look…right. Ami smiled. “The Vessel is knowledgeable in the arts of warfare, and possesses many unique skills and traits that were not present in the original Jokilar Gerius.” Then, Ami’s eyes glistened, and a feral grin spread on her features. “Yet she possesses the most unique skills that only the Gerius ever knew…and no-one but the Gerius ever knew, not even the Gods of the Universe. We developed, cultured, and nurtured this skill… and it died with us. And now, after nineteen billion years, it has been reawakened!”

“And what is that?” Sorcerer asked with sarcastic curiosity.

Ami smiled, held up a hand. “The conscious thought capable of matter/energy transmogrification at the hufgerafirtor level.”

Sorcerer stared in shock at the girl. He was unable to translate it… in itself an impossible feat. He was the Phalanx. He could translate everything, every language he would ever come into contact with. The Gerius smiled.

“At the what level?” Sorcerer asked.

Ami smirked. “The true language of the Jokilar Gerius can not be decoded by any means divine, technological, or intelligential.” Ami cocked her head. “This Vessel calls it the ‘superstring level’.”

“Alter,” Sorcerer said with a smirk.

“Alter,” Ami agreed, dipping her head. She closed her eyes, and her mouth formed a peaceful smile. Then, both hardened as she opened her eyes, and lifted her hand.

The Gerius jumped back as the ground exploded in Alter energies, forming a perfect circle around the two combatants. When it settled, a pitch-black ring of marble-like quality had formed.

Sorcerer lifted an eyebrow, as if asking ‘is that it?’

Ami smiled, and formed a spherical manifestation of Alter Energy, a black sphere which surface was tinted with rainbow-like colors flowing through and over each other. “Sorcerer, meet the weapons of the Jokilar Gerius.” She blasted the sphere at the man, who dodged out of the way just in time. His senses kept tracking it, for the chance that it might turn around and come after him again. It didn’t, but plowing into a mountain range far, far away instead.

Ami kept smirking. Sorcerer’s senses went to high alert. He spun around, and stared.

The entire mountain was glowing white, and tremors went through the entire planet. Sorcerer could feel it. The entire planet was groaning to its very foundations. A blast wave washed over him, apparently going faster than the speed of light. Sorcerer’s Spice senses had warned him, and he had dropped into a combat stance and raised his shields. What he saw next made his blood run cold. The mountain vanished, the next moment the place it had been was clouded in some sort of dust-smoke he was unable to identify.

Then came the sonic boom. The sound was excruciatingly painful, and would have deafened any normal man within microseconds.

The planet’s groaning and shaking increased in force and magnitude to the point where Sorcerer was sure it would be ripped to pieces. Finally, it started to quiet down, and he looked at his opponent, who apparently was totally unaffected, just like the other Gerius. He actively ignored the lava that flowed freely from the tremendous crater that had formed behind him.

“You Altered that entire mountain range into anti-matter?” he asked with shock in his voice.

“Your fault,” Ami said with a nonchalant shrug. “It should have been you.”

Sorcerer smirked. “I am beginning to like you.”

“The feeling is not mutual,” Ami stated coldly. “One moment, this Vessel wishes to speak.” Ami closed her eyes. When they reopened, they looked like before, her mannerisms back to the Ami they all knew and loved. “Sorry about that,” the girl apologized. “But I want you all to know that I am quite safe in here… It’s like the ancient spirits of the Jokilar Gerius has reawakened, and decided to help me. It’s like the Phalanx secondary personality.”

The spirit was back within seconds, forming two Alter spheres. Sorcerer smirked, and stood ready. Ami-Gerius threw the spheres. Sorcerer smiled, spreading his arms slightly. He received the two Alter spheres, and channeled his own Alter into it. Two slabs of rock disappeared from around him as he funneled, channeling the two spheres upward. They vanished in the direction of the moon.

Ami-Gerius looked up with a raised eyebrow. “Unique,” she muttered, and turned to Sorcerer. “Very well. You do not respond to refined techniques. Then brute force will have to do.”

The Gerius blasted towards Sorcerer, her body taking flight as if born to it. Sorcerer, after all this time still used to fighting the old-fashioned way, had trouble with Ami-Gerius’ three-dimensional techniques. But, that passed after only a minute, when Sorcerer’s Phalanx abilities countered Ami’s Gerius ones. Both warriors flashed around, over, and under each other, fully utilizing their flight capabilities for the first time.

Indeed, Sorcerer remarked, throwing balls of ki at someone from above is nothing compared to actually fighting hand-to-hand in three dimensional space.

I need more speed! Ami-Gerius grunted to herself. This jerk is still faster than me! Ami’s presence chuckled at the enraged Gerius Spirit. What? The Spirit demanded. You just called him a ‘jerk’. That’s so unlike you. The spirit ‘humphed’, and turned away from the blue-haired girl. To focus solely on the fight. Yeah… that’s why I’m mad at her. For interrupting my fight.

As the two warriors tumbled around each other, the sounds of energy detonating could be heard as Sorcerer’s fists hit Ami’s dimensional shielding, and his Warp Magic fought her Dimensional Protections for entry. Streams of lightning-like energy radiated off the fight, clashing into the planet, drawing deep gores into the ground.

Finally, the two warriors broke off. “Take the next level, Sorcerer,” Ami-Gerius said. The very foundations of space-time bent around her, and Ami stepped into the hole as if it were nothing. She vanished.

Suddenly, she was behind Sorcerer. He spun around, throwing a fist at her location, but she had gone again. She reappeared to his left, ducked under his swing, and planet her fist right into his side. Sorcerer appeared unaffected, and threw a kick at her… but she had already vanished.

“Fuck THIS!” he growled. He balled his fists, and demanded the ground around him to Alter. He materialized the black-hole robe that hid all his features behind the veil of totally darkness… except for his chin and the lower part of his face.

Ami’s fingers cracked as she formed fists. “You seem to be an enigma,” the warrior stated. “This Vessel warned us that you are devious… as well as undefeatable, if you claim the truth. Only Lady Shadow would be more than a match for you.”

“The Chief Brat knows me too well,” Sorcerer answered calmly.

“But you don’t know me,” Ami retorted. “As Jokilar Gerius, I have knowledge beyond your wildest dreams. I helped form the laws of physics that have defined you all your miserable pathetic life. I was part in the creation of the Phalanx; I was the one who was the ancestor of all creatures that claim to be of power!” Her right arm twitched at her side. “I don’t know who you are, but I do know what you are! You are an abomination in the face of the Gods of the Universe. You have lost all rights to live, and must therefore be terminated.

“Frederic Fromthefield known as Sorcerer, under the Divine Authority of me, the Field Battle Commander of the Jokilar Gerius, I exact the punishment under the Divine Law for creatures such as yourself. I will now execute you.” The girl went into a different ancient stance than before.

Sorcerer smirked, charged, and disappeared. Ami’s eyes narrowed under the armored helmet, and vanished as well. One continuous clash of thunder and lighting flashed through the air as the warriors clashed into each other at speeds beyond light, propelled by the very Universe around them.

“Einstein was right… nothing can move at speeds beyond light inside the universe. But there is no limit on the speed at which the universe can travel,” Daphnix whispered. “It’s impossible to see or even detect them… All I know is that they’re hitting each other. I can hear the thunder and see the lightning.”

Ami flashed into existence, and landed flat on her back. Her armor was cracked all over her body, her helmet had lost the left half portion, her right boot was the size of a shoe now, exposing her lower leg and the bloody gash it held. Her armored skirt was missing a couple of its straps on the right side, exposing the girl’s leg all the way up to the bottom part of the body armor.

Ami crawled up, and coughed up some blood. Rubbing the remainders of the blood off her lips with the back of her right gauntlet, the girl looked at it. “Blood,” she whispered.

“Yes, blood,” Sorcerer smirked. “Give it up. You made a valiant effort, but you can’t beat me. Not possible. Sorry, Chief Brat, you did your best.”

Ami slowly looked up at him from where she was still sitting on hands and knees. “No,” she grunted. She took a breath. The ground around her exploded, replenishing her armor. Her wounds vanished.

Ami crawled to a full standing position. “This Vessel’s body possesses the youth, strength, and resilience needed, Sorcerer. I shall defeat you.” She lifted her hand, and formed an Alter sphere.

“Not that again,” Sorcerer snarled, and blasted towards the girl. Once again, the two warriors vanished in super-light mode.

What exactly transpired could not be known by the onlookers, except that Ami reappeared five seconds later, flat on her back and stripped of her armor. She was dressed solely in an armored brazier and armor panties. Sorcerer landed not far away, cradling his left arm which was bleeding profusely. “Damn bitch,” he cursed. Then, he smiled. “You’re good.”

“I…I…can not… surrender,” the girl whimpered as she attempted to get back up. Her ki flared up again, forcing more energy into her body. She was swaying on her legs by the time she did finally get up. The girl lifted her arms. The ground shook, small parts of it Altering. They settled as a sort of eye-mask over her face, a pair of boots that barely covered her feet, and two gloves that barely went to the end of her wrists.

Sorcerer shook his head helplessly. He looked at the others. “Listen, I can kill the bitch with a single blow. She’s got nothing left. STOP HER ALREADY!!  I’ve got too much respect for her to simply wipe her out.”

“Ami…” Shadow began.

“Not yet, Lady Shadow,” Ami interrupted, her voice still strong. She whispered. I summon the power of the universe eternal, the endless power that binds gravity, created matter and supports life.

“Ami, NO!!!” Shadow barked. “Remember the rule of three, and where it started!!”

Ami broke off her whispering incantation, and looked at Shadow. She grunted. “You’re…right…” Ami looked at Sorcerer. “I can not summon the power eternal to fuel my fight… it will drain that power from other sources. And the power of life will kill to fuel me. For this futile fight, that’s not necessary.”

Sorcerer smiled, dipped his head, and powered down.

“However,” Ami said, “this Vessel has one last ace up her sleeve.” She drew something out of dimensional storage. “From the powers of Water I summon its warrior… SAILOR MERCURY!” Blue-white energy surrounded the warrior, and within seconds she was dressed again. This time in a purple-blue version of the Gerius armor, the symbol over her heart that of Mercury. She disappeared.

And reappeared in front of Sorcerer, and clocked him right on the chin. The man staggered backward, and fell.

“That’s for stripping my armor,” the girl grunted, staggering over to her friends. All of them bowed their heads, and clenched their fists over their hearts. Ami’s power had full given out now, and she was back to the ESMF uniform she had been wearing originally, albeit that it was torn and cut all over.

“Shadow…I…” the girl started when she was in front of her teacher.

“You did well,” Shadow interrupted. “Mizuno Ami, Field Battle Commander of the Jokilar Gerius, I commend you,” she said, bowing.

Ami smiled. “Thank…you…” Then, she passed out, right in Daphnix’ arms. He immediately infused some of his energy into her, making her flutter her eyes as her healing kicked in, and her regeneration cycles began.

Sorcerer walked over, rubbing his chin. “She packs quite a punch,” he grunted.

Shadow smiled. “I trained her well, thank you very much,” she said coldly. “And now, tell us what you did. Or I will be the one to bring forth Ami’s judgments.”

Sorcerer gulped. If that’s Ami’s strength, I do NOT want to know how much Shadow’s grown. “It started like this,” he said. “I was bummed because of the fact that you all became Gerius…”

 

On top of a large tower, a demonic figure overlooked the vast areas of destruction his armies had caused. As far as he could look, the lands were charred black, and sky a scorched red, and the paining screams of the damned caressed his ears. The demonic figure smiled under its mask, twin red glowing eyes burning from the slits.

He stood tall, at least two and a half meters, and his entire body radiated power and physical prowess. Dangling from his hip was the largest mace ever seen, a steel girder the thickness of a human forearm blending flawlessly with a thick, bulbous head that sported sharp edges.

“SAURON!!!” a bellowing sound came from the shadow, causing the demonic figure to grasp its mace, draw it, and spin towards the source of the offending sound. In the shadows, a figure could be made out, wearing a hooded cloak of some kind. The shadowy figure’s features were fully hidden.

“Who dares to intrude on me!?” Sauron demanded the shadowy figure.

“My name does not matter,” the figure answered levelly, stepping from the shadows so his black robe with red borders could be seen. But still, his features were hidden. His mouth and chin were the only things visible. “I have come for one thing, and one thing only. Sauron, hand me your ring, and I will let you live.”

As answer, Sauron burst out laughing, arching his back, and laughing heartily at the skies. “You must be the most gutsy man I have ever met,” he finally admitted, raising one hand, the one with the mace.

The robed figure did not move as Sauron swung. But, at the moment of impact, the mace mysteriously halted in mid-air, and a pair of beaming blue eyes burned into Sauron’s pitiful remains of a soul.

The man threw the hood back, and flung open his robe, revealing golden armor. “You wish to fight, Sauron? Very well. I will return that fight,” Sorcerer bellowed, the regal airs coming back with the Imperial garments he now wore once again. Sorcerer lifted his hand. Sauron froze in mid-swing.

In one second, Sorcerer had downloaded Sauron’s ‘crimes’. The creature was evil, of that there was no doubt. Torture, maiming, horrible acts… And Sorcerer smiled. “You think you are evil, don’t you?” he demanded of the demon.

Sauron growled, trying to take a swing but barely moving a centimeter. Sorcerer sighed, shaking his head. “I will show you evil. Sauron, see what I have done, and learn from them! See that there is ‘evil’ out there that you can not imagine!!” With those words, Sorcerer slammed into Sauron’s mind, pouring in his experiences. The Nazi Death Camps, the experiments using toxins, radiation, curses, demonic energies, and all the other atrocities he had committed ‘in the name of knowledge’. Sorcerer poured it all in, the pain his victims felt, the relishing in the horrific acts that occurred. Somewhere in the middle, Sauron started howling as the full power of a really pissed off Dark Triple Phalanx flooded his senses.

By the time Sorcerer was done, Sauron was on his knees, crying like a whimpering child. With a deft motion, the demon drew a simple gold ring from his left ring finger. Fitted to Sauron’s demonic size, the ring was twice the size of Sorcerer’s thumb. “Take it!!” Sauron bellowed. “Just…leave me alone!!!”

Sorcerer smirked, took the ring, and watched it shrink to his size. Sorcerer put the trinket on his ring finger. “Thank you so very much, Sauron. Enjoy your stay on Middle Earth.”

“Wait,” the demon whispered. “Please… grant me one request…”

Sorcerer, half-turned to leave, turned back to the demon. “Depends. Killing you is too good for you.”

“Port me to the monastery… I need to atone…”

Sorcerer’s eyes went wide. Now THAT is something I never would have expected from a guy like Sauron. The man shrugged inwardly, then made a motion with his right hand. Sauron vanished. “That’s number one on the list,” Sorcerer whispered, looking at the One Ring as he vanished.

 

The three monks cowered near the containment circle as the monastery shook around them, and pieces of the ceiling dropped down. They continued the chant that would complete their business. The building shook again.

The double doors leading to the large vaulted room were blasted inwards, and a black-robed figure floated in. he snapped his fingers, and the three monks were knocked out cold instantly.

“Fred would never forgive me if I kill you,” the figure muttered, throwing his hood back and revealing Sorcerer’s face. He snapped his fingers, and pulled a crystal out of thin air. He placed it at a certain point on the circled pentagram drawn on the floor in blood-red ink. Proceeding to draw a second, third, and fourth crystal, Sorcerer placed them all on specific points on the circle.

He started whispering, the crystals glowing blue, white, red, and yellow. As his voice rose in volume, flashes of light emitted from the crystals focused on the center of the pentagram, where they formed a bright white orb of energy, which soon coagulated into a fight, transparent crystal which shone in a brilliant white light. This was what Sorcerer had been waiting for; as he slipped the One Ring he had acquired from Sauron from his finger, and threw it towards the fifth crystal.

The One Ring, designed to boost a person’s innate abilities to their very limits, the One Ring that was destined to rule all of the peoples, the One Ring that was considered the most evil object in all of creation flashed as it made contact to the fifth element.

“From the United Powers of Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water, I summoned thee, thou fifth element of Space and Time! And now, under the Power of the One Ring of Total Darkness, I shall force thee to summon thine biggest source of power, the Dimensional Key! Infuse it into the One Ring! Boost its power! Boost mine! I implore thee! Do it! Do it now!!” The entire compound, no, the entire continent shook on its very foundations as the ground inside of the pentagram split open, and a blast of power rose from it, floating inside the containment field generated by the four outer crystals.

The power rotated slowly, picking up speed as it went, forcing closer to the One Ring which had now bounded to the fifth element of Space-Time. Sorcerer smiled smugly.

“Hey! That’s my Key!” a female voice whined from behind Sorcerer. He slowly turned around, making sure that his body was hidden under his black red-lined robe.

“And you are?” Sorcerer asked, his voice quiet yet strong at the same time, rumbling through the vaulted room as if it were generated by the God of Thunder Himself.

“I am Glory!” the blonde woman whined. “And that is my Key!” she went on, motioning for the field where the energy had now formed a flat, fast-spinning disk around the One Ring in the center.

“Glory…Glory…” Sorcerer said, going over the name a couple of times. “Nope, doesn’t ring any bells. Go away, lady. I know someone who will be mighty pissed if I killed a human. So don’t bug me, k?”

“H…human?” the woman stuttered, voice too affronted to speak right. “I am a hellgod, mister! I’ll have you know that–”

Sorcerer spun around, hood thrown back by the force, one hand raised, energy bristling around it. A detonation of power blasted the hellgod against the far wall. “Well what’d ya know? She was actually telling the truth. She is a hellgod.” Sorcerer shrugged. “I’ll get in Fred’s good graces by killing her.” He started pacing, his mind going over fitting ways to dispose of hellgods, muttering to himself as he did so.

“Hey! I’m still here!” the woman whined as she got to her feet. “It’s really impolite to talk about people in third person while they’re in the room!”

Sorcerer merely lifted his arm, and blasted her again. “Oh, shut up,” he grunted without interrupting his pacing. “Most hellgods are too scared to fight me. I want to make this last.”

“What?” she grunted, getting to her feet. Sorcerer sighed, and turned to her, his eyes glowing a yellow-amber, his entire body radiating amber-gold waves of magical energy.

“I will dispose of you,” the man growled, advancing on the hellgod. “I am Lord Sorcerer, Conqueror of Evolved Combat Magic, Vanquisher of Marduk, and Supreme Ruler of the Lost Universe!” He raised his hand. Energy whirled around it. “In the name of all that is evil, I deem you lacking in power, strength, intelligence, and integrity. Glorificus known as Glory, I sentence you to Eternal damnation in the Great Void!”

Glory’s eyes had grown wide as Sorcerer said his speech, and she was now backing up, hands in front of her, as if trying to ward off the man she saw in front of her. “No…wait! I know we can work this out! Eh…you want to Key? Keep it, please! I…I don’t need it anyway.” She forced a shrug. “Who wants an old key like that anyway?”

“I do,” Sorcerer said calmly, making her eyes grow even wider.

“Oh! Sure you do, because it’s like really valuable, and…and…and it opens stuff! Like dimensions and such! Really, really valuable, and powerful, too…capable of altering the minds of every person on the world. That’s what they were doing, by the way… Giving it a human appearance, and using its energy to insert that human key into people’s minds and memories!”

Sorcerer rather enjoyed the sniveling heap of hellgod that had backed into a corner, was sitting on her heels, deathly afraid of him. It brought back the old memories of when he was Emperor. Sorcerer took in a breath, his eyes glistening with enjoyment. “I know all that,” he stated coldly, lying through his teeth. The bit of information that it was capable of making alterations to people’s minds was filed away as ‘useful information’. “Question is, why do you want it?”

“I…eh…I just want to return to my home dimension! You know, a hellgod without hell isn’t that much at all…” Glory whispered hopefully when she saw Sorcerer smile.

“Banished, huh? Can relate to that… Tell you what. I’ll help you.” He lifted his hand, and Glory looked hopefully at the cold orbs of power that were Sorcerer’s eyes. “I will strip your powers, and send you to hell.”

“What? Nooooo……” Glory’s voice trailed off as Sorcerer’s powers tore into her. Five seconds later, the woman was gone. Smiling to himself, Sorcerer turned and walked to the pentagram, where he collecting his Ring. The crystals vanished.

Sorcerer looked at the Augmented Ring. Instead of a simple gold band, it now sported a diamond-like stone inset into the top, the stone shining in a brilliant collection of colors in seemingly random patterns. Sorcerer slipped it on, and his eyes flashed a brief red as his Will asserted dominance over the Ring’s Will to subject to Sauron’s authority. Sorcerer looked at the flowing patterns of flaming red dark Elvish writings engraved into the Ring, and he continued to watch them as they died out.

“Only Fire can reveal…” Sorcerer whispered as he clenched his fist. “Computer, did you find that planet yet?”

A planet with the conditions specified has been located. Do you wish to lay in course?

“Yes. Beam me up, and engage.”

Acknowledged.

 

Sorcerer stared out over the desert. As far as he could look there was nothing but sand, sand, and more sand. Ah… good old Dune. I used to love this planet so much back in my home universe. Too bad mine didn’t have sandworms, though. Sorcerer took a deep breath of hot desert air. His Immortal body would keep him from overheating or dying of thirst. Now, according to the computer, this planet is fully loaded with sandworms, so I should be able to reproduce the effects of Melange and the Water of Life, according to Frank Herbert’s books.

Sorcerer chuckled. That’s the theory, anyway. Still chuckling, he closed his eyes, and let his magical senses sweep the planet. He didn’t have to look very far, because almost immediately, his senses detected a 500-meter long worm buried under the sand, blasting towards him at incredible speeds. His rhythmic breathing and chuckling had attracted the monster.

At least that part’s true, Sorcerer thought. They’re attracted to rhythmic sounds. Readying himself, he drew one last breath, and held it. His heartbeat stopped. His entire body went into a state of rest. I need to time this just right. When I …do what I am going to do, the worm will die very violently, and I need the fluids that come out of its mouth as it does.

Sorcerer closed his eyes once more, preferring to use his internal senses over his external ones. His senses provided him with a three dimensional map of the entire area. He jerked his hands. The sandworm, about the length and size of a small freight train, appeared in mid-air, and remained there. Its huge body trashed against Sorcerer’s powers, yet to no avail.

The man snapped his fingers, and created a large bottle. Then he whispered.

For the first time in the history of the planet, the skies clouded over, and for the first time, its sun was hidden form it surface. The clouds were dark and oppressive, with lightning flashing in them, casting shadows across the desert surface. Rain started falling.

Sorcerer balled his fists as the huge sandworm started fighting for its very life, the hardened skin able to withstand the harsh temperature of the sand, but unable to even withstand a single drop of water.

I need to drown it, Sorcerer’s mind told him, and Sorcerer growled. Below the sandworm, the desert basin changed, morphing into a vast pool of water, which started to evaporate almost immediately thanks to the tremendous temperature and the dryness of the air. Sorcerer could feel the moisture gripping at him, making the desert even more intolerable now that his sweat had no chance to evaporate.

Sorcerer released the sandworm, letting it fall into the muddy pool. It hissed and screamed, and Sorcerer had to bind it once again to prevent it from escaping. Finally, it was going through its death-throes, and Sorcerer jumped into the thick, gooey mud next to the monster, holding the bottle under the animal’s mouth as it went to the next incarnation. A thick, blue fluid filled the bottle.

“There. The first stage, the Water of Life. Presumably, it’ll sharpen my senses, allow me visions of the future, give me the knowledge of every man and woman since the birth of the race, and enhance my body. Or, it’ll kill me.” Sorcerer looked at the blue fluid in the transparent bottle. “I’d like to see that, actually. Well, bottom’s up.”

Knowing well enough that a small sip would have no effects, Sorcerer lifted the bottle to his mouth, and drained it. Immediately, he wished he hadn’t. His vision blurred, and turned dark. He had a distinct falling sensation, yet he couldn’t be sure. It felt as if his entire body was burning. Sorcerer screamed, yet was unaware he did so. His awareness was in contradiction, overloading even his Phalanx-instilled mind. It radiated outward and inward at the same time, dragging his attentions out further and further. He felt like an antimatter bomb exploding.

He could no longer feel his body, his mind bombarded by the power of the Water of Life, his consciousness extending beyond everything he had ever believed possible. He felt both out and within, knowing himself and the universe at the same time. Finally, it was as if time started to slow, the movements of Time around him flowing slower. The raging torrents of Time finally ground to a halt, and Sorcerer drew a breath.

At least, he wanted to, but found he couldn’t. Time-stop… Sorcerer’s mind whispered, regaining strength rapidly. I am now the Kwisatz Haderach… the only male capable of transforming the Water of Life. His inward awareness focused on the Water of Life within him, and immediately he could see its molecular composition. By moving a couple simple atoms round, he made it into a psychotropic drug. At the same time, his outward awareness went over the multiverse, and he could feel black holes in the rivers of Time wherever he encountered a Jokilar Gerius. It was as if they constituted a large unsurpassable wall, one he could not look behind. He looked into the future, and found the same wall there.

Immediately, his mind countered, wishing to know what would happen if he avoided the Gerius or Fred altogether. The rivers of Time changed their flow at his thought, and he could see a very unpleasant death for himself at the hands of the Gods of the Universe. Sorcerer decided to take his chances with Fred and company.

The Water of Life had been changed. Sorcerer opened his eyes, dark blue orbs on a light blue background, his mind still in the grip of the psychotropic drug that had been created. He was now addicted to Spice Melange… Sorcerer shrugged it off. He could create it by magic, or by replicator. As Sorcerer’s mind went further and further, is awareness spreading further and further outwards, he knew.

It is not enough. I need more power to defeat the Gerius… I’ve seen those ancient Gerius… even then they were undefeatable. I need more power if I am to defeat them, let alone FRED.

Sorcerer balled his fists. “Computer, Search, Locate, and Report. Dawn Summers, Key of the Dimensions.”

Acknowledged.

 

A fifteen-year-old pretty blonde girl was being kissed by a good-looking boy a couple of years older. They were in the park, the blonde pressed against a tree by the boy, both obviously enjoying the experience.

“Wow, Dawn, that was a really good kiss,” the boy muttered as they broke. Suddenly, his face changed into the visage of a vampire. Dawn screamed.

The vampire suddenly froze, and looked down. A hand, held rigid, was penetrating through his chest from behind. “Oh, shi–” the vampire started as it turned to dust. Dawn stared at the black-robed man that stood behind the vampire.

“Who are you?” she demanded.

The man threw his hood back, blue-blue eyes glared at her with an evil twinkle. Dawn felt that something was wrong, and raised her arms. “I am warning you,” she said haughtily. “I am the Key.”

“I know,” Sorcerer said with a chuckle. “I’ve come for that Key.”

Dawn’s eyes went wide. “I am the sister of the Slayer!” she continued. “She will kick your ass if you lay a hand on me!” she shouted. “If you still have hands, that is,” she continued as energy started swirling around her outstretched hands.

Sorcerer smirked. “A fully activated Key, are we?” he asked. He shrugged. “No bother. You’re nothing.”

Dawn screamed, power exploding around her. “I will banish you to hell!” she screamed, her power tearing towards Sorcerer, who smiled and simply slapped the energy aside. A nearby tree vanished.

Sorcerer shook his head. “Now look what you did,” he admonished. “You banished a perfectly innocent tree to hell. That’s not a very nice thing to do.”

“Fuck you!” Dawn screamed, bringing out more power. “I will open the largest gate you’ve ever seen! I am Dawn! The Eternal key!” her eyes glowed white, and Sorcerer could feel the dimensions warp around him. He smirked. As the warping continued, he lifted his hand, and there was a noticeable ripple that went through the universe around him. Dawn’s eyes widened.

“You can not defeat me, little bitch,” Sorcerer said with a growling quality to his voice. “I am the High Mage known as Sorcerer, my name strikes fear in the hearts of hellgods!”

“Great. Let’s test that,” Dawn said with a shriek, throwing a blast of power to Sorcerer that was stronger than he had ever seen a Dawn do before. He smiled.

“Efflixi!” Sorcerer shouted, finally feeling a tip of the veil over his powers lift. With a mighty bang, Dawn’s entire Key energy reserves were locked down.

“Wha… what happened?” she demanded of him.

Sorcerer smirked. “I obliterated your ability to control the Key energy within you.” At her stricken face, he continued, “I told you that I can not be stopped. You are nothing. A vessel with energies you have no right to control. You, Dawn, are a tool. Nothing more, nothing less. I… I am the user of that tool. And I shall use it!”

“You’re insane!” Dawn screamed, raising her hand, trying to summon her Key energy. Sorcerer merely crossed his arms, and waited. This usually took between, fifteen and twenty seconds before they realized that it was useless.

Finally, he shook his head. “Nothing you can do can restore the control you had. Not even your pet witch Willow or that bitch Slayer sister of yours. Maybe Marduk, Lord of Magic, could help you… unfortunately; he won’t, because he knows I’ll kill him if he does.”

Dawn lowered her hands, and looked at the ground. And then she made a run for it. Sorcerer let her run. After only a dozen steps, she lifted off the ground, and floated back to her original position before him. “Nothing you can do, Dawny girl. I will use the Key energy within you to augment my power. And no-one can stop me.”

Dawn growled, flew at him, trying to punch his lights out. She hit him with her full strength, and immediately she recoiled in pain as her fist felt as if it had broken. “What in hell are you?”

“I told you. I am a High Mage. And I will be something even stronger… once I’m done with you. You’re the last I need.”

Dawn swallowed, unable to move in her psychic prison. Sorcerer’s eyes went over her pretty body. “But before I do, I’ll have some fun with you.”

“What? NO!!” Dawn screamed as Sorcerer jumped her, and pushed her against the tree. Her pants and panties ripped at her crotch. A few seconds later, Dawn let out a high-pitched squeal.

“Lord oh God!” Sorcerer cursed, his back arched as he drove inside the fifteen-year-old body. “Jeezus Christ, I’ve missed this! The squeal of a forcibly deflowered virgin… fuck what a rush!” Sorcerer slammed some controls into place, and made his fuck last. After half an hour of his grunts and her squeals, he allowed himself to finish. Dawn let out a last, feeble ‘no...’ as his soldiers invaded her defeated city.

She sunk to the ground as he released her. Sorcerer took a couple of breaths. “No matter where I come, you’re a great fuck,” he said to the crying girl on the ground. “But, back to business.” Sorcerer snapped his fingers, creating a pentagram under the crying girl. He pulled the four crystals, and completed his ritual, Dawn’s body releasing into Key Energy before being absorbed into the Ring.

Sorcerer slipped it on after the ritual was completed. “That makes twenty Keys. Let’s see… I took out four Glories, absorbing four Keys in their original shape, I had some fun with five Dawns without any powers, and I defeated eleven Elevated Dawns who could use the Key Energy.” He chuckled. “Those eleven were the most fun. But now, I must do something…renovatio.”

A wave of magic blasted out from around the man, wiping the implanted memories of Dawn from the population of the world. “There. Back to normal.”

 

Sorcerer knelt down on the tip of the Everest. The sky was clear, and the entire summit had been stripped of snow. Sorcerer sat on the ancient bedrock, the first time in thousands of years that it had seen daylight. An elaborate pentagram had been carved into the rock, marked with elaborate writings that literally oozed magical might and evil power. The air around Sorcerer quivered with energies unfathomable by most people of magic. Only few could ever hope to decipher what Sorcerer was doing, and none would ever be able to duplicate it.

Sorcerer closed his eyes, and connected to the Augmented Ring. “This power is enormous, yet it still is not enough,” he intoned monotonously. “In order to climb the steps of power, and to ascend to the realm of the gods, I need to unleash the full potential of heart, mind, body, soul, and power.”

On the Astral Plane, the world around warped with a greenish tint to it, Astral-Sorcerer was kneeling in an exact duplicate of the pentagram in the real world. “From the realms of Magic I will draw the energies I need. From the world beyond I will unleash the gravest weapon since the dawns of time!”

In the Magical Realm, a world that was filled with yellow and amber energies, Sorcerer’s magical essence had surrounded itself with magical spells the likes of which no-one had ever seen before. “The Ritual is nearing its completion… finally I will achieve the power that is my birthright.” The magical essence started humming, whispering words that were absolutely meaningless as the Magic around it started to shape under the onslaught of power from Sorcerer’s mind.

Sorcerer opened his eyes in the real world, a vicious look coming over his face. His blue-blue eyes were glowing a bright red, mimicking the glow of the carvings on the bedrock below him. Sorcerer could feel the power reaching higher and higher. He snarled, his Will slamming into the Augmented Ring, breaking down the defenses that had formed. Like with all items of great power, the Augmented Ring protected itself by establishing barriers that prevented its full power from being addressed and released all at once.

This time, those barriers were a hindrance rather than a help in preventing the item against vaporization. Amber-red energy exploded around Sorcerer, electing a scream that was sheer ecstasy and utter pain at the same time. Both in the real world and the Astral Plane, the markings exploded beneath him, a beam of power blasting to the heavens, engulfing Sorcerer’s screaming form.

In the Magical Realm, Sorcerer’s Magic essence screamed in correlation with the other two avatars as a beam of power from the real world and a blast of energy from the Astral Plane connected to it. It ripped the essence to pieces, literally obliterating Sorcerer’s ability to use magic.

However, the beams did not stop. Sorcerer was no mere magician anymore. His awareness realigned, the two beams formed a new anchor, a new entrance into the Realm of Magic, born from the pain, terror, and sheer ecstasy of death and rebirth. The Magic attacked, unable to simply stand by as its very core was violated in this manner.

Sorcerer’s anchor, still in its formation stages, was forced to defend itself. Unable to withstand under its own power, the anchor drew from the only sources of power available to it, the Astral Realm, the normal world, and the Power of the Keys stored within the Augmented Ring. Sorcerer’s magic anchor exploded in power as it drew in the Key energies, the dimensional capabilities of those energies boosting the anchor beyond belief.

“From the powers of Earth, Wind, Fire, Water, Magic, Life and Death I have taken shape!” the anchor bellowed across the Magical Realm as it started to expand. “By the insight of the powers of the Water of Life I have succeeded!”

The anchor returned to the normal size a magic anchor should have, yet it explosively changed shape. Instead of a formless bubble of energy, the anchor formed a hole in the Magical Realm, through which energy was siphoned directly into Sorcerer. The explosion of the transformation radiated outward, pushing the magic away in a massive tidal wave of energies totally alien to the Magic Realm.

It was under this pressure of outside and inside forces, under this abomination that Sorcerer was doing to this Realm that new and exotic forms of magical energies were born. Energies which soon went the other way to fill in the magic vacuum that the original blast had created.

An entire realm of magic was sucked into the vortex, running directly into Sorcerer.

The blasts of power stopped, the Astral avatar discontinuing, the anchor in the Magical Realm noting that energy was zero, yet slowly rebuilding. However, in the normal world, Sorcerer did not yet stop.

The air around him had ignited under the simple energy that Sorcerer bled off. He could see the flames through the closed eyelids. His senses were either going insane or were detecting nothing at all, the energy simply overloading his ability to see beyond the radius of the burning sphere of air around him.

From somewhere in the howling mass of burning air, a voice was heard shouting. I HAVE THE POWER!!!!  The burning air exploded outward, creating a vacuum to extinguish the flames in a single swoop. Sorcerer stood up, and for the first time in the four hours the Ritual had taken, he took a breath.

“By the Gods of the Universe… what happened?” the man whispered as he lifted off, and slowly floated away form the Himalaya mountain range. His mind was in shock, a shock of which it was repairing itself at a remarkable pace. “I was supposed to simply link the normal world, the Astral Plane, and the Magical Realm to the Ring, and bind the Ring to me. It was supposed to be that simple. Instead, I find my anchor dying on me. I had to rebuild it completely… in itself impossible.”

Sorcerer shook his head. “The Water of Life changed me more than I realized… no-one should be able to do that.” He drew a shaky breath. “And then…while creating it… something went wrong again. It was being reborn, reborn from the energies of the two other realms, and under the direct power of the Augmented Ring. The Dimensional energy must have made it go berserk… so the magic attacked it. Makes sense… but then…then things went completely down the drain. I had to defend… and defend I did. I drained an entire universe worth of magic, infused that power into the Augmented Ring, and used that to bind it permanently to myself!”

Sorcerer landed on a small island somewhere in the Caribbean. “But now… now I need to master my new power.”

 

“…And that’s how it went,” Sorcerer told Shadow and her companions. “I became the Master Warp Mage. The power of the Augmented Ring is enough to sustain me with magical energies perpetually. I can use magic in universes that have no magical realm. I can warp reality under influence of the Key energies, and use the magic to keep those warps stable. Hence, Warp Magic.”

“Damn,” Shadow grunted. “That’s a mighty impressive piece of work.”

The Gerius nodded. All, but Buffy.

“Sorc?”

“Yeah, Brat?” Sorcerer retorted, turning to the girl.

“One question. You killed my sister? Twenty times?” she asked coldly.

Sorcerer chuckled. “She was never your sister. She was energy given human form, and inserted into the memories of your dimensional twins. That in itself is a violation of every mental preserving act. But, it was done for no other reason but to make your twins die for it. That’s even worse. And then… then there was the fact that the girl was just a bitch. Always whining, and always demanding the center of attention.” The man shrugged. “I reconfigured the energy to something useful, rather than a whiny brat with no real use.”

“He’s right, Buffy,” Frederic said, shifting from Shadow. “Energy is energy. He wiped Dawn from the memories of those affected. He did a good work… although I find that hard to believe, the evidence is there.”

Buffy nodded stiffly to Frederic, and turned to Sorcerer. “For once, I’ll let it go,” the blonde told the Warp Mage. “But let’s make one thing clear. No-one kills the little brat but me. Got it?”

Sorcerer’s mouth twitched upward. It developed into a grin, which developed into a smile. Sorcerer laughed, and slammed her on the back. “I knew there was a reason I liked you,” he bellowed with a laugh as the Gerius was catapulted half a step forward. “Agreed, Brat. Next one is yours. Just remember that the Key is mine.”

Buffy shrugged, and sent a thought to Frederic, who replied immediately. “All it does is give you more reserves, and it’s useless to us anyway,” Buffy told him.

“Great!” Sorcerer said, slapping her on the back again.

“Now, I wouldn’t mind seeing those new powers of yours in action,” Frederic told the Warp Mage. “Unless, of course, you’re afraid to fight someone who might actually punch back?”

Sorcerer burst out laughing. “To be honest, I’m curious how far you’ve progressed too, Fred. You’re on.”

The Gerius cleared a circle around the twosome.

“Shall we cut to the chase, or do you want to play ‘cat and mouse’ first?” Frederic asked.

Sorcerer smirked. “Let’s cut to the chase, shall we? We already know that at low power, nothing I do can harm you.”

Frederic chuckled. “Sorry, dimensional protection can’t be cancelled.” He grew serious. “I, Frederic Fromthefield, catalogue you as category ‘A’ threat, and hereby authorize the release of the full power of the Jokilar Gerius.”

Sorcerer braced himself against the shockwave as the universe rippled around Frederic. The plains realigned, just as they had with Ami. Just like with her, the golden shield appeared around the Supreme Leader of the Jokilar Gerius. Sorcerer dutifully ignored the blinding of his senses in the higher plains, just like he ignored the huge spinning seal up in the skies.

“Cool. My turn,” the Warp Mage said, balling his fists. He took a breath, and his Will tore into the Augmented Ring. The brilliant stone let out a blinding flash, and Frederic could feel the magic gripping and tearing into the surrounding universe. Magical fire obscured the man from all senses, mimicking the original Sorcerer’s Fire that had given rebirth to him.

Sorcerer reappeared out of the magical fire ten seconds later, his entire body glowing a brilliant amber. Frederic could feel the flows of time eddy around the man, the amount of magic he possessed enough to warp reality even without using any spells whatsoever.

Frederic dipped his head.

Sorcerer returned it.

Frederic balled his fists, and went Super 4, Altering into his Alter Armor at the same time. He dropped into the ancient combat stance of the Jokilar Gerius. After that, for added effect, the Triple Phalanx and Supreme Commander of the Jokilar Gerius went Magic Augmentation level 3.

Sorcerer smirked, went Magic Augmentation level 7, and crouched into an Oech-anya combat stance. He turned Super 2 and Altered at the same time. “Are we going to keep standing here having a pissing contest, or are we going to get busy?” Sorcerer demanded of his counterpart.

Frederic smirked, and vanished into super-light. Sorcerer followed.

Frederic and Sorcerer flashed across the planet, into space, and back into the atmosphere at speeds beyond light, planting hits on each other that could vaporize stars. Light Sabers were exchanged for Swords, Bane of darkness fighting it out against Sword of the Phalanx. But, at speeds like that, a Blast of the Heavens meant nothing. It was as if the bolt hung still.

The swords made way, the two Triple Phalanxes landing once again on the planet surface.

“Cool. Nothing new, but still cool,” Sorcerer said with a smile as he wiped some blood off his brow.

Frederic smiled, snapped his dislocated right shoulder back into place, and said, “I know what you mean. But… our physical powers are nothing now.”

“So true,” the other agreed. “Our physical powers are insignificant compared to Warp Magic and the Power of the Gerius.”

As answered, Frederic lifted his hand, created an Alter Sphere, and blasted it at Sorcerer at beyond lightspeed. The man dodged at an equal pace, smiling as he did so, and ignoring the anti-matter explosion behind him. At the same time, he threw a blast of Warp magic at Frederic, who slapped it aside, created a burst of Alter, and launched it at the blast as it curled around to come at him again.

Warp Magic and Alter Energy annihilated in mid-air, sending shockwaves of space-time distortions across the planet’s surface. All the present people arose into the air as the surface below them cracked and split, accompanied by groaning sounds.

As Frederic turned to look at Sorcerer, the man blinked into existence in front of him, and slammed him right into the face. As Frederic raced to the surface, Sorcerer blinked into existence below him, ready to receive him. Frederic dodged sideways, slammed into Sorcerer, and chased after the faster-than-light flying man.

Sorcerer and Frederic continued to launch attacks at each other in super-light mode until Sorcerer grabbed onto Frederic, kicked him right in the nuts with all the strength he had, and threw the groaning man to the lava-encrusted surface of the dying planet below them..

“Elemental Chaos!” Sorcerer howled, amber waves radiating off him. Frederic righted himself after the low blow by his counterpart, reminding himself never to take a fight with Sorcerer lightly. As he looked up, his head exploded in pain, every sense in his body hyper-sensitive. He could feel that the universe around him was distorting. It was reaching as far as the outer planets of the Solar System. Frederic knew it. Thou shalt not disturb the balance of Air, Fire, Water, and Earth, something whispered in his mind.

Frederic growled, opening his eyes, clamming down on the pain. There was only one thing he could do. “STOP!!!” he screamed. Sorcerer’s amber waves met with ripples formed by Frederic, and slowed down. Slower and slower… until they fully stopped.

Sorcerer’s breath stopped in his throat. He could feel something grip him. Something forceful…painful…and of insane power.

Time, his Spice Senses warned. Time is slowing down!

Sorcerer’s mind, thinking slower and slower, came with a way to fight. “Ring… Counter…”

The Augmented Ring, boosted by the power of twenty Keys, abruptly withdrew Sorcerer from the Space-Time reference plane. He was now moving outside of time, just like Frederic and the Gerius, obviously.

Sorcerer smirked. “Warp Magic! Beam of Destruction!” he threw a blast of bright red energy at Frederic at speeds beyond light. Frederic knew better than to dodge. Earth was below him. Granted, the planet was dying anyway, but still…

Frederic lifted his hand carrying a Bane of Darkness. “Protect and Annihilate.”

The Beam met the Bane, purplish-colored energy coming off the Bane pushing and straining against the red energy of the Blast. The Blast broke apart, red streaks of energy waving in a spherical construction around Frederic, who was enveloped in a purple sphere.

Frederic growled, sinking to one knee as he did so, the strain on the Bane tremendous. Frederic screamed. Instead of being able to form a Blast of the Heavens, the Bane can now only protect! All its energy goes to my protection! Frederic howled in pain. The Bane is unable to stop it! All it can do is turn the Beam against itself! And it’s till not enough!

Frederic forced his own power into the Bane, and managed to draw his second Bane to add to the Sphere Shield. He managed to right himself. Finally, finally, the Beam stopped.

“You should have let it pass, Fred,” Sorcerer admonished as he cupped his hands to form a second beam.

Frederic lifted his hand, this time without the Bane. “I will not let you blow up this planet, Sorcerer.”

“Your funeral. Die! Beam of destruction!!”

“Not this time, Sorc,” Frederic growled, the universe around his hand wavering as he channeled the most destructive force in the known universe. The Force of Gravity. It bent space-time, and ate energy and matter alike. Frederic closed his eyes. Dark matter exploded around him, the very hints of Alter Energies making the entire spectacle a ghostly affair.

Frederic looked at the racing blast, time distorting under the full force of the Gerius in action. Frederic lifted his hand. The universe warped along his fingers, a hole seemingly punched into the fabric of space-time. A tiny spec of total blackness formed. The spec grew into the size of a tennis ball.

“A black hole?” Sorcerer shouted. “You damned Gerius can build a fucking black hole??? And I bet it’s a real one, too!”

“One quarter the weight of the sun,” Frederic said with a smile as his black hole started eating the Beam of Destruction. Frederic’s hardest challenge, however, wasn’t the creation of the hole. It was the safeguarding of the universe. That tiny ball had the gravity attraction to disrupt half the solar system, and eat all four solid inner planets.

Frederic had to build a layer of anti-gravity to counter the effects of the black hole’s gravity. Instead, he used the tiny ball of black matter as a shield. He moved the ball into place, let the beam crash into it, and let the hole do its thing.

However, the Beam wasn’t any ordinary beam, and Frederic found himself forced to continuously expand the size of the ball to counter the amount of energy the ball absorbed. Soon, his ball was growing to the size of a decent bowling ball, and the universe was visibly warping around it, Frederic’s attempts to stop it be damned.

“That’s ENOUGH!!” a voice shouted, and immediately, the beam and the ball vanished. Frederic, Sorcerer, and the Gerius were back into ‘normal power’, standing on a patch of Earth that had obviously not suffered as much as the rest of the planet. The air was clear, and apart form the small tremors going through the ground, everything seemed alright.

The Wise One grabbed sorcerer by his collar, and threw him a little further. The man had just managed to crawl to his knees after the unexpected attack as the Wise One placed his hand in front of Sorcerer’s face. “For breaking Divine Law, I will now terminate you!” the God said coldly.

“What? What Law?” Sorcerer choked, remembering the memory of him dying at the hands of the Gods of the Universe.

“You achieved Gerius status without it being allowed to you!” the Wise One stated coldly, powering a blast. “For breaking the Law of the Universe, the Divine Law, and for disobeying the Divine Treaty in relation to ultra-powered beings, I shall terminate you!”

Sorcerer scowled, but still hung his head. There was nothing he could do. Not against a God of the Universe. He was just about to take his chances, and take a swing at the God, when he felt something stir. “What will happen to my Jennifer?” he asked.

“She has done nothing. As long as she stays where she is, she will not be harmed.”

Sorcerer hung his head again. “Then go ahead… as long as I know she’s safe.” He felt a breeze, as if a small wind had suddenly picked up. His senses told him otherwise, and Sorcerer looked up, surprised to see what he saw.

Frederic had inserted himself between the God and his target. “Lord Wise One, I ask for your leniency… Sorcerer may not be the most… genteel… of people, but he is an ally.”

The God looked at Frederic. “I thought you out of all people would welcome this, Young Phalanx,” the Wise One said with cold neutrality while Sorcerer stared in total shock at the back of his twin.

What in hell is that asshole thinking he’s doing?

“I have the power, Lord Wise One… I fully accept the responsibility. I ask of you… please… let him go.”

The Wise One drew a breath, the look on his face clearly indicating he didn’t like this. “I am willing to release him, Young Phalanx. Under one condition.”

“Name it, Lord Wise One,” Frederic answered respectfully.

“He is under your responsibility. The moment he steps out of line by as much as a micron, I will terminate him, and you, and I will personally strip the Gerius of their enhanced abilities. I have come under a lot of fire for making you Gerius, and I hope continued to protect you from the wrath of those who would like nothing better than to destroy the ‘New Gerius’. I can not permit this to get any more out of hand.” The God took a step back, and drew a breath, not as much as he needed it, but more that it was supposed to be that way. “So, Young Phalanx. What shall it be? Do I destroy this…vermin who destroyed an entire universe, or do you put yourself personally responsible for his actions, and accept the consequences should he break these terms?”

Frederic looked over his shoulder at the shocked face of Sorcerer, still on one knee on the ground. The man realized Frederic was looking at him, and he shook his head. “Don’t do this, Fred…” he whispered. “You’ve got a sweet deal here. Don’t ruin it on the account of me.”

“Don’t be an ass,” Frederic grunted, and looked back at the Wise One. Then, he looked at the Gerius, realizing he couldn’t do this without their permission. Their lives were at stake as well. He didn’t have to look. Almost as one, the entire group of Gerius walked towards the trio, and stood next to Frederic, forming a line between Sorcerer and the Wise One.

“He is our teacher, Lord Wise One,” Ami whispered.

“He helped us in the fight against Third and Second, even though he could have taken off after we rescued his Jennifer,” Daphnix added.

Frederic smiled. “We accept, Lord Wise One.”

The God bowed his head, and let out a malcontented breath. He shook his head. “I really don’t like this,” he grunted, before he looked up. “Very well. I release him.” Without further words, the Wise One vanished.

Sorcerer stood up on shaky legs. “Fred…I…Thank you just isn’t enough…” Frederic twirled around, backhanding the man across his face with such force it blew him a couple of meters backwards.

“You short-sighted, narrow-minded incompetent asshole of a fool!” Frederic cursed as he walked towards Sorcerer. “You’d better behave, pal… or the Wise One is the least of your worries.”

Sorcerer stood up. “Of course…” he whispered. He extended his hand. “I want you to know… if you need my help, I’ll be there. Just…don’t expect me to play nice and follow orders. I’ll always be who I am. But…for what you did…no-one ever did anything like that for me before. I’ll always be in debt.”

Frederic looked the man over as he stood there with hand extended, head bent, obviously unable to express himself. Finally, Frederic’s hand traveled up, and grasped Sorcerer’s hand. “I don’t expect you to change, Sorc. All I ask is that, every once and a while, you pitch in a couple of Beams of Destruction.”

Sorcerer started snickering. Frederic joined in. soon, the entire group of Jokilar Gerius was laughing, until the earth shook violently, and the air turned black.

“Looks like this planet has had it,” Sorcerer said as he lifted a little into the air to avoid the shaking ground. The Gerius all did the same. “Too bad. I rather liked it,” he finished.

Frederic chuckled. “Sorc, be witness to one of the biggest secrets in the Gerius’ arsenal.” Sorcerer looked in curiosity as Frederic and the entire squad of Gerius formed a large circle, higher up in the air. He followed to have a better view.

“As Supreme Commander of the Jokilar Gerius, I am authorizing Temporal Incursion.”

“Temporal Incursion sequence authorized and initiated,” the other Gerius echoed, the large sigil formed in the circle they formed.

“Temporal Incursion to our existence. Remove evidence that we were ever here,” Frederic said, before purple energy exploded around each member of the Jokilar Gerius. Sorcerer groaned as his Ring formed a Temporal Shield around his body, al his senses and all his powers warning him that the entire universe was being recreated.

The sigil flashed a bright purple, and the entire group screamed in pain before a blast wave of purple energy left the circle in every direction, radiated outward without losing strength and picking up speed, the things it touched being changed to an almost paradise-like state. The same state the universe would have been in if the Gerius had never been there.